Friday, August 17, 2007

Counting Down!

Whew...summer seems to have flown past! It seems I am counting down for a lot of things right now. Counting the days I have left to do fun summer activities with my family, yet also counting the days that we return to a routine and less hectic schedule (yes, the school year will bring some normalcy for us), and counting down the days that Memory Makers will be making calls to the next ten Masters. Perhaps they have already started the calls for the contest, but I am hoping that is not the case...as I am really praying for my phone to ring. I would love the opportunity to create for a magazine for year - I love the challenge of deadlines.
On that note, August has been a busy scrapping month for me. I was laid up for about two weeks since end of July with a back sprain, but that did not make my design team deadlines go away. In addition I had receieved several private invitations to submit work for upcoming publications - no guarantees that my work will be published, but I felt very honored to be included with an exclusive list of designers for the various publications. Once my back was healed so that I could return to a normal life, I set a priority list by deadline date and began scrapping furiously. Unfortunately I am not able to share most of these projects, but I created some wonderful treasures in the process. And that, is really, what scrapping does for me. Not only is it my creative outlet, but it has definitely made me more aware of life around me, not to take things for granted, and scrap that which is most important to me. I almost lost a very dear friend in July, and prayed fervently that God would keep her here on earth so that I might visit with her again and take a picture of us together. He heard my prayer, granted it, and I was able to scrap a layout that means the world to me.
Up until recent rains, and my back sprain, the kids and I have really been enjoying the summer in our EasySet pool. I created this layout using Cherry Arte papers for the Scrapbook Playground - Kyle is sporting his bright green swim goggles. It is his favorite color, and what strikes me as funny is that Kyle wishes to remain an unnoticed "wall flower", yet his goggles are very loud and he is easy to find in the pool. (LOL)


Yesterday we were finally able to take Kyle and Abby to Lil' Amerika. We have taken the kids to this amusement park every year since Kyle was four. It was a perfect sunny day in the 70s - the weather could not be any better for us.
When I saw the chiropractor Tuesday I asked for permission to ride the TiltAWhirl with Kyle. Jesse won't ride it, and I am the only one game enough to do so with Kyle. Dr. Joe was not too thrilled that I was going to push it so soon, but told me to wear my support belt. My confession - I did not. I wasn't going to spend the day wearing this huge black belt, which is not that comfortable, and it is warm. But I did really well. The force of gravity plasters my body against the back of the car as the Tilt-A-Whirl spins - I think the only repurcussions I suffered was a bit of a headache and upset stomach from all the spinning. And yes, I went back and rode it a second time, even though I told Kyle I wouldn't do it again.
Abigail is the daredevil in the family - no one else would ride the Ferris Wheel with me, which easily towered over all other rides in the park. Abby asked to go on it, however, and she and I did. I fully expected her to start crying and that they would have to stop the ride to let us off...but she proceeded to count the cars and give a play by play as to when we were going backward, up, forward and down. When we got to the top I was actually the one who had a lurching stomach...I learned the only way to get through it was to keep my eyes focused on her. And yes, we did that more than once as well - she loved it. The park also had a new wooden roller coaster...and it seemed to run so much more smoothly than the others. On that note, near the end of the day I decided to ride it. It was a blast - and my body (neck, spine, etc) was not jarred at all - I give the Meteor 2 thumbs up for being a chiropractor approved ride. (LOL) Abby rode beside Jesse - he kept his protective arm around her while she raised her hands up in the air like all the kids in front of her. Yes...that is our fearless 4 year old. I always suspected she might be a daredevil from the moment she first began swinging and kept telling me to push her higher and higher.
Abby also learned to play mini golf. I needed to create one more Junkitz product layout for the SBPG, so when we got home I printed some photos right away. I created a layout telling the story of how Abby mastered the art of mini-golf in about 10 minutes.

The miniature golf course is a tough one, and Kyle and Jesse had some frustrations getting through the obstacles. By the third hole Abby declared, "I know how to play this game!" She picked up her ball, strutted over to the hole, set it a few inches from the target, and push-putted the ball in. "See, this game is easy!" she said with a big, proud grin. She proceeded to play the game much faster than Kyle or Jesse, having mastered the game with her own set of rules. It was too funny - and of course she was quite proud of herself the whole while.
I hope as you count down the final days of summer all who read this blog are finding themselves in good health. And while we are counting down...don't forget to count your blessings one by one...God gives us many as we enjoy the journey!

No comments: