Faith Journey...

I am not sure how this will show up...the page is build on WHITE...as I try to go for a clean and simple approach . It is Day 6 of the BPC Big Idea Festival and Cathy Z...a favorite of mine for many years...was the inspiration.  She loves fonts...words...simple and clean...and I love her style - even when I don't really emulate it in most of my layouts.  Today- I tried to "get real" and pay tribute to Cathy Z with some "White Space"...that actually happens to be white this time.  I hope it looks okay on the web.

I love it when the assignment of "Getting Real" intersects the rest of my day to make it easy to complete.  I started this layout before church and came home with Henry Blackaby's book- "Experiencing God".  I read the assignment for next weeks group and came down to finish my page.  All I can say is WOW- do they fit together for me like a puzzle piece. 

For me...God has always been more experience than intellect ( I guess I relate more to Pooh who is relationship oriented than to Owl who thinks about everything) ...because I have always been able to feel His presence more than I can explain His ways. I believe in the Trinity. I believe in the resurrection.  I can read, study and quote from the pages of His word - but it is in the moments that I step back and watch Him move in my little world...or look back and see that he did move to provide and protect...well, that is the stuff that gives me goosebumps.  Those are the moments that I find such peace in the valleys and joy on the mountain tops of life.  That is as "real" as it gets. 

This layout - about my last day at St. Jude and turning in the badge was a very real moment of trusting God for the care and provision of our family.  It was about trusting him to give me joy in serving in a different place where I may or may not be viewed as a professional.  It is finding peace in knowing I am where He has led me and resting in the peace that can only come from seeking to be in the center of His will. Real is ...as one commercial says..."my life- unscripted"! Unscripted maybe...but now without a plan...as Jeremiah 29:11 states. "I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for." - the Message

Savor the real...the good and the hard...for these are the things that He uses to define us and refine us.  

Shalom (Peace and God's blessing on your day)

Sisters-in-law...the chosen ones!

This is a really simple layout. I didn't want to take from the photo. I am so very blessed in the Sister-in-law department.  This layout focuses on my oldest brother-in-law's wife.  We married our guys about the same time and liked each other from the beginning.  We laugh at the things Monte and Randy do that are similar.  Monte is 14 years older and I swear I see my husband's future when I look at Monte. 

Jan and I just can almost read each other's thoughts within a few hours of being together.  We both love music, children's ministry, scrapbooking, card making and our men. There is never enough time to share, chat and play. On the rare occasion we have additional "Smith Sisters" with us - the fun is just multiplied.  The last time Lola, Jan and I were in the same place, we laughed until it hurt. (Does that count as exercise?)

On my side - my brother chose equally well.  How blessed I am.  I would love to have my "Sisters" all in one place some day...including the ones that have earned sister status after nearly a lifetime of friendship. Each one of them has added joy to my days.  Such a reunion may just have to wait until heaven...as we live so far apart. 

This page is from a couple of "The Daily Digi" packs.  I am getting faster and understanding layers better the more I use them. I am finding that going back and forth between digital and traditional scrapbooking is good for me. Both tell our stories..and that is what will be of interest to future generations. 

Hope you had a restful Labor Day. 

  

Who Do You Look Like?

I think it is pretty amazing how genes fall into place.  I remember, as a child, thinking a picture of Aunt Bonnie was me in a frame my Grandmother had on the wall.  As I grew- I realized it was my Aunt Bonnie...child number four and sister number three. 

I have been mistaken for her daughter and it got me right into the maternity ward when my cousin was having a baby. It was obvious to the staff that "her other daughter came by...she looks just like you".  We still laugh about it.

I don't have many pictures of Mom...she is hard to catch for some reason...but I love this one from the 2012 Guttendorf/Bess family reunion.  All three of us were there and this page idea was born.

Who do you resemble?  Chase is a mini-Randy and Walker has a great deal of Uncle Matt in him. Do you see your future in a relative? 

Have a great holiday weekend.
Valerie

A Thank You Card...

My "Thank You" card for my St. Jude Team...

Card details...Flower Paper form Hobby Lobby(not sure of brand), Cardstock cut to fit an A-2 envelope, Die Cut is a Sizzix die, butterfly paper glitter paper is Making Memories and the body is  from Michaels Recollections line the metallic pack.  A quick shout out - Michaels Recollections line is perfect for die cutting in Cricuts or other machines.  Clean and a nice weight - it cuts like butter.  Brad's and ribbon from my stash to dress it up. 

My ramblings for today...20 years of family support and social service at the St. Jude Midwest Affiliate in Peoria, IL is where I "grew up."  I was a young mother...Chase was not even two yet...when John McCallister convinced me to interview for the position of  counselor at St. Jude. I was happy with my part time position at Peoria Alternative School but in the end - that I said yes.  I actually worked two part time jobs until Walker was born - keeping Wednesdays home and summers off from the school District. 

20 years in the "valley of the shadow of death" with cancer's youngest warriors and their families.  I am humbled that they allowed me to share their path and I will never be the same for the experience.  Traveling Light - is  a book by Max Lucado that dissects the 23 Psalm.  He writes about a young man and his daughters riding back from the cemetery after burying their mother. A huge semi truck passes them throwing a shadow over the car and making it dark.  He uses that to draw a picture of the "valley of the shadow of death".  The shadow cannot hurt us.  It can be scary - but in itself is nothing to fear- although it is human nature to do just that.  The book was given to me by a friend from church after my sister died.  

Today is the 17th anniversary of her death on Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa and she is on my heart. 17 years ago today - the Air Force Chaplin arrived in Clifton where my parents were visiting my brother's office.  He was looking for directions to our farm and found them there together...just as I know God allowed for them to have each other when the letter was read. She died just two weeks before her wedding day.  I was forever changed by her loss, "Traveling Light" and 20 years in the field of pediatric cancer. April died just over a year after we had lost out niece, Jennifer,  in a car accident.  Loss changes us but it has it's gifts. It allowed me new insights into my work on what it feels like to have your family forever changed by a loss. 

Life seldom turns out the way we expected and the best plans can fail.  Still, we can "dance in the rain" and hold on to joy because we have a hope that "moths and rust cannot destroy". 

Valerie

I See You...

I try really hard to not be one of those people that just goes on and on about their own kids- you know the ones I mean.  Maybe that is why I love to scrapbook.  I can write down how I really feel about my children - for their benefit - and not someone else's boredom.  I want them to know how very much I love and treasure them. I want them to begin to grasp how God has blessed them.  When something in their life is hard, I don't want them to say "Why me?".  I want them to say, "Why not me?" 

In truth...as I once heard Max Lucado put it..."only by God's grace and Jesus' blood do I NOT get what I deserve."  Any good thing that comes is a gift and every trial is an opportunity to grow.  Joy is the fruit of this knowledge.  

As our children grow into young adults...our parenting role seems to change.  Less discipline and more mentoring.  I pray we are doing the right things so that they choose wisely their paths and whom they will serve.  We are not perfect and fail miserably at times.  I am glad they show us forgiveness. It is fun to do an occaisonal layout reflecting on who we see them becoming and how that makes us feel as parents.  

I used the Smart Alec kit from The Daily Digi....that little monthly download is truly the best friend to a new Digi or Hybrid scrapper, like myself.  Now- on to a paper page...after I FINALLY clean my Scrapcave. Don't tell my hubby- he will be so surprised. 

Have a sensational Saturday.
Valerie

VBS memories...

I absolutely adore that my kids are still willing to serve at VBS every year.  I know the day will come that they can't, due to other commitments - but these are the sweetest memories.  The Pirate theme was fun and Walker diligently ran the sound board - even after Cross Country practice.  Spending time with the Leander's and the Roth's is a real bonus. 

We are so blessed to have found a church family to call our own - since our family lives far away. Most of my children's childhood memories are woven into the same fabric as Ryan, Emma, Blake and Leah's. It is good.

Do you have fond and fun VBS memories?  Do you have memories of growing up with certain kids that make you smile?  There are stories waiting to be told!

Live-laugh and love-
Valerie 

Back to the Blog...

Well friends....finishing a 20 year season at the St. Jude Midwest Affiliate, visiting family in Florida and  starting my new life as the MJHS secretary...I have been absent from scrapping and blogging.  I hope that at the conclusion of this weeks VBS, that I will get back into the scrapping and card making zone.  I miss it and it is good for my soul. 


I have so many pictures that need love and attention.  I am hopeful that my dreams of a slower pace will be a reality, although I always seem to feel any open spot in my calendar.  MARGINS! I need to create them and protect them.  Not just for crafting purposes, but because they are good.  We all need a little down time.

I hope your August is off to a good start.

Valerie