In Blows The Wind...

Photo by Grace Roberston Photography (to see more of Grace's Work go here)

Cardstock:  Prism Papers, Patterned Paper:  SassaFras (all available here)

And just like that, March has arrived with all the wind and dust.  Could we have expected any less?  I'm just waiting for warm weather.  This march for some reason feels so colorful, and bright to me (despite the cold).  I'm excited for the flowers and trees to bloom again.  I guess it's due to the long, cold winter we've had this year.
Every month, Memory Works has a challenge on their message boards.  This months challenge is to incorporate a song into your layout.  I know what songs I would put into a layout, "Clocks" by Coldplay, and "You're Gonna Miss This" by Trace Adkins.  I was singing that song this morning, and I realize that I'm going to miss all the craziness in my house one day.  The kids will be grown, and there won't be toys everywhere, huge messes, screaming, yelling, and hitting.  But, there also won't be kisses and snuggles, cute little voices, story time, funny little things and musings children say, make-believe, and magic.  I will miss this, I will want this back, and I will wish these days hadn't gone by so fast.
I guess that's why I scrapbook, and why this year I want to focus more on the little everyday moments, and the quirky things that the boys do.  I want to remember all their sayings, and thoughts, and the cute things they do.
I have to quit putting so much pressure on myself to keep up with everything as well (Plus, also, thinking you're going to die isn't that helpful, either).  Things are getting better as far as stress.  The last couple of weeks were just so hard, and I never want to go back there again.  I've never had stress like that in my life.  So, I'm going to take it easy and try to be more balanced.  With my health scare, I learned a few things.  Things that were hard to face if I was seriously ill, like not being there for my kids, or how important I was to my family.  I also learned that there are a few things I need to work on as a parent, like being more consistent, and making sure my kids are responsible.  I really need to be more strict on chores.  Well, this was really random.  There is one more thing I wanted to share.  It's a blog post from Stephanie Howell.  It was a really beautiful post, so here's the link...  She's such a beautiful writer.  I wish I could write the way she does.  Anyhow, enjoy your evening.