A New Year and Trip Highlights

A Blessed New Year to everyone!

Are you looking forward to the possibilities of a new year? Are you facing changes that are exciting yet unsettling? Do you make plans and resolutions?

Like most, I like taking time to reflect and give thanks for the year that has past, and pray and think about the new year. I have relaxed a lot over the years about making tough resolutions and concrete plans, as they make me too stressed up and take the joy out of it! This year I found myself with this prayer and note to self in my journal:

Live in thankfulness and joy.
Remember how much we have been forgiven and given.
Live with simplicity, letting go of all unimportant details and opinions of others.
Find my hope and joy in my Saviour and Lord.
Be thankful for our leader, in my case, my husband who loves me much.
Don't pass on a spirit of nervousness to my children due to my worrying!
Pass on a Spirit of Joy and hence resilience instead.
Give of myself to others.
- 29 Dec 2013

Yes this is what I hope for myself this year, prayerfully, humbly, and trying not to let life overtake these intentions. And on New Year's day my bible reading brought me to 1 Kings, and I am again humbled and encouraged by Solomon's prayer that God will bring about by His own Hand what He has promised to us in His Word. What a promise to start the year with!

(credits: paint by Dawn by Design)

 How do you take stock and journal your new year reflections?


In December we had a dream come true :) 

Our family took our dream trip to London! In some way we have been planning for this for maybe ten years - waiting for the time when we think the boys are old enough and understand enough to appreciate the history, art, culture and all to make it worthwhile. And saving up for it. And now was the time.

As always, the best part and main reason for all our trips is how we get to spend 24 by 7 together for 2 weeks as a family. These shared experiences and memories are more than worth everything it took. To hear Ryan say 'that was epic' a few times a day and see Jared so happy and game for anything was so cool. We planned something for everyone and took the whole family along to each other's special interests places/events. We saw, did, learnt, experienced, soaked, absorbed, shared, so much! It was stressful at times too, getting lost, or plans gone awry, missing a train, which in the end was each an unforgettable adventure. Well, you get it, we are travel junkies, and we love it!

Project Life Trip Highlights

You may remember how I brought along journal cards to record each day on our trip last year, and slot them into PL album along with photos for each day - that was fun and super fast!

For London however, I knew there was no way I could squeeze my journaling for each day on a single journal card, so I went back to recording in a paper travel journal. What I planned before leaving, was to create a title card or Day Marker for each day while on the trip. I researched and found Rhonna Designs App: (yes, she has an app! Just perfect for digiscrappers, I think!)

After trying out a bit, I was quickly able to chose a photo for each day, and add in the day and place visited, as we travelled. Like this one for day 6

When we got home, I printed all the title cards for each day and a selection of photos. Then using a pack of stickers bought in London, simply decorated blank journal cards and jotted highlights of our trip by hand. Super fun and so quick too. And I do love how it looks into my PL!

Days 0 to 2

Days 3 to 9

Dasy 10 to 14

Days 15 to 16

(Credits: Word arts by One Little Bird, CD Mukosky, Karla Dudley)

Some extracts of the journalling:

Here is what we saw and did:

1. Sat in a London Cab!

2. Rode a classic Routemaster red double decker bus

3. Spent a fortune on the Tube !

6. Cruised down the Thames

7. Followed in the trail of a few good men: Admiral Nelson; Sir Winston Churchill.

8. Stood on the Greenwich Meridian Line!

10. Climbed to the top of the Dome of St Paul's Cathedral!

12. Overwhelmed by the artefacts at the British Museum - Rosetta Stone! Clocks!

13. Elated at the Comics store goods in store at the Forbidden Planet

14. Being the sleuths at Hint Hunt!

28. Touched and saw all the tanks the boys dreamt and read about in the Bovington Tank Museum

31. Took a wonderful, walking tour of fascinating, beautiful Bath

34. Got lost on the hills of Bath in Combe Down

42. In the stands of White Hart Lane for a 4-1 Spurs victory!

47. Laughed our way through the West End production of Monty Python's Spamalot

51. Admired the great man that was Winston Churchill and especially his wit and quotes at the Churchill Museum

53. Experienced the christmas throngs at Oxford Street

54. Shocked by the opulence at Harrods

55. Soaked up on the heroism and planes at the RAF museum

56. Last minute shopping at Covent Gardens

And this is what we call EPIC AWESOMENESS! 

I will still make my digital photobook for the trip, but it is again so good to have scrapped the highlights of this trip into my 2013 PL!

(I will be linking this post up at The Mom Creative's Project Life Tuesdays. It is a great place for much  PL inspiration)

Also I just took out my tablet and did this for my Project Life 2014 Cover Page. 

(still toying with more ideas!)

If you like it, you can download it here. The handwritten layer is separate from the rest so you can change the colors as you like.

Here's wishing you all the grand as well as everyday kind of wonderful for 2014!