Sunday, March 14, 2010

Life around here

Been a while since my last post: Life around here has been hectic!
Jared has visited the dentist 3 times in the last two weeks, had a root canal done, and 3 other teeth pulled out, both he, I and the dentist are traumatised (the last visit lasted two and a half hours and a lot of tears), and one more is due this coming Wednesday to finally fill in that root canal treated tooth. The good news is, he is now super diligent in his tooth brushing, flossing and using mouth wash, lol. I have some photos and this is definitely going to be a layout for this year. :)
We had a bit of a scare after Ryan had a podiatrist visit and it was suggested he be checked for Marfans syndrome - thankfully further checks with a paediatrician proved that it is negative, I had a week of learning to trust God no matter what the outcome is - that was really hard but faith building.

Life around here also revolves around my newly minted teen and pre-teen - like Tracy said a few weeks back, yes, I need to trade notes and all the help I can get, on how to navigate this new phase of life for me, haha! Ryan is so sure of himself (unlike me when I was a teen) and coping with first months of high school really well, he hates it when I want to know about this and that - to him it is intruding, and I am learning new creative ways of getting involved in his life without probing! Recently he did a school project - "My autobiography project" - did up a journal with all my digi-scrapbooking supplies - I just loved it! He appreciated my help, thinks I'm kind (and easily 'manipulated' haha) and do have soft spot for me about what he feels is my innocence and tells me "mom, you're so easy to follow!" lol! We realise the way to parent then now is by influence - walking the talk, setting an example, especially in our spiritual life, how we walk with God, seek His Will, and all that.... Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it." What a responsibility, and what a calling!
I have kept up the tradition of making a birthday layout with a prayer for this young man:
Credits: Background paper by Valarie Ostrom, patterned papers from Lori Barnhurst's Kid Couture , word art by Jen Wilson, Dani Mogstad, Shabby princess, Tracy Howard
And here's our birthday prayer for Jared, the creative, imaginative, free-spirited one in the family. Recently we had a 'meltdown' situation with him over getting homework done, and we asked him,"why don't you just focus and complete your work which can be easily done in half an hour, instead of reading, playing, and doing everything else leaving work to the last when you're tired and melting down?" And his answer? "The thought that ..sob..life is so much more than homework...sob..sob..." !!!
Credits: Background paper by Kate Hadfield (painted pretties), patterned papers by 'bbd from dsa freebie'and from whispereddreams by emarta, word art by Jen Wilson, Dani Mogstad, Bethany wordarts, and Shabby Princess
The templates of these can be downloaded - scroll down for the links!

And I have been trying out new styles! Was inspired to use all white backgrounds for my next 4 Japan trip layouts - what do you think? It was not planned, I had a difficult time finding the background paper color for the Shrine layout and the Kobe layout, and accidently found that white works! I really love the modern feel of white against the traditional scenes of Japan - who knows, this might be a new direction for me :)

Credits: Doodled border from Nancie Rowe Janitz's One Swet Love Borders
Credits: Paint by Creashens, Brown paper by Joyce Paul, alpha by Christina Renee, borders by Michelle Filo from the So Charming kit from LDD
Credits: Ribbon by Mira Designs, lflowers by Cori Gammon, button by Emiko Designs, Yellow paper by Megan Turnidge from Good Day Sunshine
Credits: Stitches by Shabby Princess, fan from Take me to the Orient by Simply Sweet Designs , black paper by Michelle Coleman

This template is now available as a set in the store HERE

51 comments:

  1. One of my favorites so far!

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  2. Thank you for the templates!

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  3. Yin,

    Thanks so much for the templates. I think your layouts with the white background look fantastic! I very rarely use white also and now I think I'm going to try some. Thanks as always for the inspiration!

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  4. thanks so much for all the templates you do! Love the white space look---I use it a lot and it makes the photos pop

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  5. Hi there, fellow pre-teen / teen parent! :D

    I'm so glad you mentioned how confident Ryan is as a teen. My soon-to-be-13 daughter seems very confident (much more so than I ever was!). My goal is to stress confidence without stepping over the line into pride. I tell my kids that if they want to be the best, be the best light for Christ. There will always be someone smarter, prettier, taller, more athletic, etc..more treasures will be gained in being the best for Jesus. We'll see how it all turns out! (Proverbs 22:6!)

    Thanks for the templates..love them, as always.

    p.s. I think the white with the Japan layouts is perfect. The country seems to speak of distinct boundaries and the white portrays that beautifully.

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  6. Your templates never fail to be an inspiration. Thank you so much.

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  7. Thanks so much for sharing your delightful and creative designs. I just recently discovered your work through "Digital Daisy." Here is a link to a page I made with template 177.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/grandmasherpa/4379342225/in/set-72157623087169743/

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  8. Thanks so much!! I love your templates!!

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  9. Thanks very much for the templates. Love the white background!

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  10. Thank you!! Wonderful templates

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  11. Thanks so much for these templates. And the white does look nice. All your layouts are beautiful.

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  12. I LOVE your templates! Thank you so much! Here's I used #158 (right side only) http://www.flickr.com/photos/9436792@N03/4433251749/in/photostream/

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  13. Thank you so much for the wonderful templates!

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  14. Thanks so much- love your templates!

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  15. Yin, I love that you scrap a prayer for your boys on their birthdays. That is so special.

    You should watch this video:
    http://www.youtube.com/user/KatrinaKenison
    It's of author, Katrina Kenison, reading a chapter from her book, The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother's Memoir
    It made me cry, but it's sweet.

    I like the white background on your Japan pages. It really lets the bright colors in the photos and accent papers stand out. Thanks for sharing your pages and templates!

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  16. I use white backgrounds frequently when I scrap---it helps the pictures "pop" better.

    Sorry to hear about Jared's tooth work. My daughter had a root canal when she was 4---and four crowns put on. She had horrible cavities even though we brushed diligently. Turns out she has a problem with the shape of her mouth, and food was getting stuck in between her teeth. We started her on orthodontia a year and a half ago, and they put an expander in and reshaped her jaw. They expanded her palate 14 centimeters! Now she wears an appliance that is moving her bottom jaw forward and reshaping her top jaw. She has not had a cavity since, and her mouth is much more comfortable.

    I'm glad the Marfan Syndrome came back negative. I've read a lot about it. I have a friend with an extremely rare bone disorder that mimics some of Marfan's characteristics, and when she was expecting her first child we did a lot of research on those families of disorders. It would be a scary disorder, though manageable!

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  17. Thank you for the lovely layout!

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  18. I love that answer -- life is so much more than homework. Too true!

    Thank you for the template!

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  19. As you already know, I LOVE the new templates!! :) I can't wait to use them! I didn't get to scrap tonight, but hopefully very soon.
    I'm sorry about the whole dentist ordeal, I had a lot of that growing up! None of my baby teeth wanted to fall out on their own and had to be pulled. Also had lots of cavities despite good brushing and whatnot. No fun at all!

    I am also so pleased to see in the comments that Sharon found you through ME! Whoo hooo!

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  20. Thanks for the great templates. Love your multi-photo layouts.

    I've also had problems with my son (8yrs) doing homework... is it a time of the year thing with the kids?? urgh!

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  21. Fabulous, thanks for sharing.

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  22. Thank U for sharing!:) Love your templates!!!

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  23. Thanks for the templates, Yin! Your templates are one of the first place I look for inspiration when I need it!
    The white backgrounds work well with your colorful photos :)
    My DS starts HS in August and learning how to relate to the new moody creature living in the bedroom upstairs in my house is certainly an adventure for sure LOL

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  24. Thanks, Yin! I love your templates.

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  25. Thank you! I really like your aesthetic. Especially the white background pages. Really cool.

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  26. Yin, so glad the dental work is over, I'm another anxious dental patient. Thankfully my girls love the dentist but they only need cleanings thus far. I hope it stays that way. And I'm glad the Marfans scare was just that, a scare. I know how that can be, waiting and wondering.

    And isn't it something to watch our children grow up so confident? My little Katie is getting ready for her last year of elementary school and can't wait for middle school. So grown up, so confident, so ready for the world! But I'm not ready for her to grow up yet, but I'm not going to supress her :) I love the little people they growing into!

    Thanks so very much for the lovely templates. I've been in a scrappying slump lately, these look like just what I need to get going again!

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  27. THANKS MUCH

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  28. I really like these templates - thank you so very much for sharing them!!

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  29. Great templates! Thank you for sharing them.

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  30. Your templates are always great but I especially like these two. Thanks!

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  31. Thanks so much for more of your lovely templates. I am so glad your boys are doing so much better -- that the dental work is over and that the report was good.

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  32. Great templates; thank you!

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  33. Thank you so much for the template. I can't wait to use it.

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  34. thank you sooo much for your templates
    they are all so great
    dowload some for using in my photobook

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  35. always love your templates. Thanks so much!

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  36. Wonderful templates. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  37. I can't wait to use these! Thank you!

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  38. Thank you so much! I just found your blog and really love all your creations and especially appreciate your help in printing photobooks!

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  39. Thank you for your generosity and the great templates that you create.

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  40. All these wonderful templates and also freebies, my goodness I could get lost for days looking at all your goodness in your blog and shop!
    I have to confess I'm not a template person (unless I've made them myself, then they aren't really templates, but layouts!). Plus I find I'm mostly a one picture per page person. Not by design, I just rarely have more than one to make prominent. But your templates have me very tempted - I bought a couple to try out as I too have heaps of photos from Japan, and they are just sitting doing nothing. Thanks Yin for your talent and generosity. chris

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  41. I love these. Thank you so much.

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  42. Fun, can't wait to use these on my own son's wrestling photos.

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  43. Fabulous set - thank you so much!

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  44. Thanks a lot for those gorgeous tempate ! It helps a lot to do some albums...

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  45. AnonymousMay 11, 2010

    Your scrapbook pages are amazing! I love them. Thank-you so much for sharing your templates and showing examples of how you used them. Can't wait to try making some pages! Thanks.

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  46. another awesome set!

    -- dalis

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  47. I love the templates! Thank you!

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  48. you are soo talented! thank you!!

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  49. i love your templates. you inspire me to make more treasured memories out of my family pictures. thanks for sharing your resources!

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  50. Thank you so much for sharing.

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