Attention all BLOGGERS! Confessions of an Ex-Scrapbooker #10

Many of us have good intentions to create "traditional" scrapbooks of our families and children. Some of us have spent thousands of dollars hoping to create award-winning "pages". As much as we'd LOVE to be able to sit down for hours....and scrap and crop all of the endless memories and photos of our lives....LET'S FACE IT....who has the time? The money? All the supplies!?? And who has the energy!?

AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

REGROUP! Deep breath.....

Okay...So many of you have BEAUTIFUL blogs that tell stories of your families and children and gorgeous pictures that you post daily, weekly or even monthly. Do you realize that you have already created something that is more meaningful, creative, and organized than any scrapbook you'll come across? You have stories! You have real life memories, typed, organized and in chronological ORDER!

HALLELUJAH!

You now have a way to take your blog and publish it in a beautiful hardbound coffee table-style book! Yes, you can do it from your home! Through Cherish Bound, you can take all of those amazing posts, pictures, memories, stories and whatever else you can think of, and you can create BOOKS! Books for everyone in your family, multiple copies...For everyone! These books will be preserved and passed down through the generations. NowIi bet you didn't know your blog could do that!

Click here and check it out!

Wordless Wednesday

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Tuesday Tradition #14

Mother's Day will be here soon and I can't help but think that I'm the one that should be giving my children gifts. This past year with all of our ups and downs and ins and outs, my children have been so resilient and amazing, not to mention just great kids that help around the house and help each other. No, they're not perfect by any means, but they are pretty awesome! Having 2 toddlers roaming the house again has actually been a sweet blessing. I love hearing them make each other giggle and I love listening to my five-year-old boy sing his version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to them. I think this year for Mother's Day I'm going to surprise my five kiddos and my hubby. I just feel so blessed to have them all in my life. Every day I look at them and think wow...how lucky am I? Lucky or blessed, I thank God every day I have them.

So this year for Mother's Day I'm going to wake up before all of them and make their favorite breakfast. I'm going to decorate the table with all of my favorite pictures of us together. I'm going to write each of them a love note and leave it at their place setting and thank them for being such amazing kids and husband. I want them to know that motherhood for me is more than I could have ever hoped or dreamed...it's truly a direct gift from God and I can't help but thank my kids, my hubby and God for letting me be a mommy!

Wordless Wednesday...Where did those eyes come from?

For more Wordless Wednesday visit 5minutesformom.com

Tuesday Tradition #13

I love this poem....showing our children how much we love them is a tradition in itself. This poem highlights some creative traditions that our children will never forget! Read it through a few times...

Confessions of an Ex-Scrapbooker #9

So this is a continuation of my last "Confessions" post....

My daughter's book is in full progress right now. I've been collecting the letters and emails from her family, friends, and teachers this week. All I can say is I'm touched! I can barely type this without tearing up. I'm reading the letters that her peers, teachers, family and friends are writing and I'm so comforted to know that my daughter is respected and admired. To have these compliments, encouraging words, letters from very private family members who NEVER show emotion (but took the time to tell her how amazing they thought she was) has changed me as a mother. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the craziness of raising 5 kids that I don't stop and smell the roses often enough. And that is what she is...she's that beautiful flower blooming in the midst of a wild field. I'm so excited to give her this book. I hope that she'll read those letters over and over again and remember how amazing she is and how much more she can have. The power of story and the power of encouraging words is what makes a child succeed and be everything they can be.

Wordless Wednesday: Sunset in Longboat Key, Florida

For more Wordless Wednesday go to 5minutesformom.com

Tuesday Tradition #12

In my search for fun things to do while on our Spring Break vacation, I came across this great tradition in a little book I have from Once Upon A Family. I'm excited to start this tradition in our family. Not only is it easy, but it's unique and beautiful.

Sand Collection
"Collect sand from all of the beaches that you visit over the years. Don't forget to grab a few shells or a piece of coral, they will add a beautiful splash of color to your display. If camping is your family's passion, dirt will do just fine. You'll be surprised at the variety of colors and textures you will find. When you return home from your trip, fill a glass bottle with your souvenirs. An eclectic mix of different shaped and sized glass bottles will add to the uniqueness of your collection. Attach a small tag to the bottle explaining where the sand or dirt is from and display the collection of memories in your home for all to see. This simple tradition will become an important part of every vacation."

LOVE IT! I can't wait to build our collection...of sand, dirt, soccer field grass (that's where most of our weekend vacations are spent)! I'm excited about shopping for the cute little glasses too! Enjoy!

Online Workshop Series Begins!

Last summer I started an online workshop series. I'm restarting this great workshop for beginners and those who want to refresh their knowledge. The online workshop series is here to help you get your first book published. The first step is to Find your story. Start thinking about a story that has been tapping on your shoulder, one that you know needs to be told. Think about this story over the next few days. To help you organize your thoughts and timeline better I have Story Starters that come in a wide range of topics from "Falling In Love" to "When I Was Little" or how about your children's birth stories or your family vacation. Contact me now to order your Story Starter. Your Story Starter has lots of questions that will help you remember details and capture the lost stories and events. You'll be able to organize your story in chronological order, make notes of photos and memorabilia you'd like to add to help enhance your story, and being writing your story. So what are you waiting for?? You have stories waiting to be told!

CLICK here to view Workshop #1

CLICK here to view Workshop #2

Workshop #3 to follow soon!

Wordless Wednesday: I Wonder What She's Thinking About

My oldest daughter enjoy a quiet walk on the beach.

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Tuesday Tradition #11

Some families have the tradition of a yearly vacation away from it all. Families use this time to reconnect and get to know each other again without all the distractions and hustle and bustle of daily life. Some families travel to grandma's or visit a new place within their state, some may travel to historical monuments while others may take off to another continent. Maybe it's heading to the mountains for one last ski trip before spring hits or hitting the beaches for Spring Break.

Our family has never really had a tradition of traveling and vacationing. My husband and I both grew up families that didn't vacation much. I think the closest I got to a family vacation was hitting the local "lake" with a bunch of my parent's friends. The highlight of my vacation was collecting pollywogs in the water I was forced to swim in. Memories were made and some great stories can be told, but for my family now, I want a little bit more than that.

Because we have 5 kids it's hard to travel far and wide and still remain on a budget. So we've decided to start a tradition right here in our own state of Florida. This will be our first real vacation as a family of 7. We're going to start a Spring Break tradition of heading south to Longboat Key for a few days each Spring Break. My husband surprised me at Christmas last year and took me there for a few days and the entire time we were there we thought about how fun it would be to enjoy this beautiful place as a family. So we're heading out Thursday for our first Family Spring Break vacation! I'm very excited and have prepped myself to enjoy the sun, fun, and family!

Family traditions are what the kids will remember as they grow up, go off to college and begin families of their own. Family traditions are an important part of any family. Whether the traditions are small, like grandma's famous chocolate chip cookies, or big like the trips to Longboat Key, they are a great way for a family to bond, and pass down the importance of relationships and togetherness.

Story Style Profile!

Take the new Story Style Profile from Cherish Bound

and find out what your Family's Story Style is.

"If your family is always telling stories – or never tells them, Cherish Bound’s Story Style Profile will help you find ways to share more stories in your home and Get Your Family Talking."

--Cherish Bound

CLICK HERE

Confessions of an Ex-Scrapbooker #8

My oldest daughter is graduating middle school...she's going to high school next year! I'm so sad! I can't believe it. Time is really flying. It's incredible how life just moves past you without any warning whatsoever. She's turning into such a BEAUTIFUL young woman. I'm biased of course, but she's truly a beautiful person inside and out. She has been such a great support in our latest adventure. We just moved across the country almost 3 years ago. She had to start middle school at a school she knew NO ONE, start completely over and did it with an amazing attitude. We promised our kids we weren't going to move them again. We promised that these were the friends they were going to graduate with. Well....life throws some curve balls and some changes, good changes, and we're moving again. We're staying in the same county, but we're moving to a place that she'll have to start all over again, new high school, new friends, new teams....and for whatever reason, she's actually okay with it. She's very social, loves her friends and has so many connections in our little community. She's making it so much easier on our entire family by having this great attitude and setting a great example for her younger sister who will be in middle school for 2 more years.

So where am I going with all of this? I want to give her something special, something she'll treasure for her 8th grade graduation. She's moving on into one of the best but craziest times of life. I want her to know that her family loves her, knows her and that she can do anything she sets her mind to. I want her to remember that she's an amazing girl, spiritually strong and that she can make good decisions and be successful in the crazy times of high school. So I'm putting together a beautiful Cherish Bound book for her.

I've collected her report cards, awards, school pictures, sports achievements, letters from family, friends and teachers, scanning in special shirt logos, ticket stubs, etc. I'm putting it together in an A-B-C format....the ABC's of Surviving Middle School. I've listed so many different words for each letter...some have pics some are just goofy...example, L is for LOL. I know she'll get that. Or how about S is for Smarty Pants (she’s an A-Student). I’m going to list all of the fun fashions and fads that have come blazing through in the past 3 years. Her favorite foods, colors, music, movies, books, and so on. My favorite part is the letters from her family, friends and teachers. She’s going to LOVE this part. As a mother it’s so comforting to see how many people are rooting for her, how many people want her to WIN in life. I hope that she understands that this book will be fun to look at and bring back memories, but it will be a HUGE source of comfort and support.

Wordless Wednesday...Beautiful Little Town

This wordless Wednesday is hard to stay wordless...This is Jonesborough, Tennessee. I won a trip there through my Cherish Bound business and attended the National Storytelling Festival. Truly an incredible experience...Life Changing!

More Wordless Wednesday @ http://www.5minutesformom.com/

Tuesday Tradition #10

I was at the Florida Story Camp this weekend and met some AMAZING people...people who love their stories, their history and their legacy. I met an older women who was telling me about a tradition she has with her grandchildren. She's a storyteller at heart and in life and her love for story is carrying on through her grandchildren. She told me that she has a jar at her house that is filled with story prompts that are written on little slips of paper....Where did you go to school in kindergarten? What was your favorite Christmas present? Who was your best friend? Tell me about the first time you fell in love....and so on and so on. Every time her grandchildren come over they pull a piece of paper from the jar and ask her the question. She said they will sit and listen to her stories and love to hear about her life and adventures. What a great idea?! I love it. We don't live close to our family, so I'm going to modify this great tradition. I'm going to send all of the grandmother's a beautiful box for Mother's Day filled with questions. Every time we call them (usually once a week) my kids can ask them to pull a question from their box and tell them a story. It would still be so nice to be right there in the room with them, but we'll make it work with what we've got. What a beautiful tradition to share with your families...try it and let me know how it works.