Conference Productivity

Wow, I got a lot done today. Probably due to Conference (we're LDS) since I didn't have to get the girls ready and dressed, and then try desperately to keep them entertained while at church, lol. Today we just listened to the session via the audio stream online, yesterday we watched the first session. I missed some of it here and there but that's to be expected with the kids. For the most part I got to listen and scrap during both sessions today. It was really relaxing and I got quite a bit done and it helped that the girls were behaving well while it was on. I really enjoyed the talks, I've always loved President Monson so it was a joy to see him sustained as the Prophet, and as always, I loved the music. In fact the choir sang one of my all time favorite songs, He Sent His Son. It made me cry. So here are the two layouts I worked on while listening to conference, the third two page layout was done after both sessions were over.

This one uses CTMH papers and a Pagemaps (book) layout. I used some of those cute sparkle stickers from Linda, who was my SBS4 secret sister; CTMH ribbon and a scrap of some really, really old ribbon I had, lol; Rusty Pickle chipboard letters covered in the pattern paper, CTMH flowers, buttons, and brads; a sheet of floral vellum (you can't see it in the picture, it's the inside of the stitched square); and lavendar embroidery floss. This was the first layout I did. I was feeling like doing a baby page and these photos were already out. I had originally planned to use some more of the spring making memories papers, which is why the photos were still out, but opted to use the sugar and spice scraps I had instead.

Welcome to Holland

by Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says,

"Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy." But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

I thought I'd open with the story that's in the layout. With Caitlyn her learning disabilities weren't something we found out as soon as she was born. Instead of hours later, it was a couple years before we noticed that she was different. It was difficult to accept and still is. I worry for her even though she's very functional. She's bright and funny, but has trouble comprehending things... sometimes simple things too. And even with Audrey being right on track where Caitlyn wasn't, and already catching up to her as far as speech and cognitive ablilties go, I love my Caitie just as much just the way she is. Audrey is Italy... Caitlyn is Holland... they are each beautiful in their own ways, and I'm blessed to have them both.

The layout used a modge podge of products: Mind's Eye paper and Transparency; Making Memories Papers, stickers, felt flowers, and die cuts; CTMH CS, stamps, brads, buttons, and flowers; and Primas. I also used another page maps book layout. The large body of text is actually where another picture is supposed to go in the design. A fun layout for me to do with all the cheery, bright colors, and one that let me express some feelings I have a hard time talking about and don't usually scrap about. The story I had found on Liane's blog, a link from Sue's blog.

This layout was the one I did after Conference was over :

I brought out my Imagine, which I hadn't used in a while and these papers that I had been sort of hoarding (just the flower one actually). Lots of journaling on how Audrey was trying to figure out how I turned the flashlight on and off for her and how she loved the flash on the camera. Uses all CTMH papers and CS, some CTMH embellies and then some Primas and rhinestones. The flower rhinestones I also got from Linda ^_~. Playful Caps, Homestead Alpha and Typewriter stamp sets used, the papers are from the Cutie Pie and Sweet Harmony packs.