Scrapping the Scrap Book Ideals

Henry asked tonight when we will go to Africa.  Our answer: there are lots of things that will need to be figured out and accomplished before we can go.  If God wants us there right away, those things will happen quickly, but if He still has things here he wants us to do for awhile, then it could take several years.

One of the things on the "to do before Africa" list is finishing my kids' baby books. It was my missionary sister who got me thinking about this, as they are on furlough and one of her goals for this year has been to finish her youngest's baby book.  This was no simple task, as finding the pictures involved having someone go through boxes that were stored 5 years ago, moved around, and stored some more.

So instead of inviting friends over to play this afternoon (or cleaning or making very much for dinner), I enlisted the kids to make a couple pages with me.  This step in and of itself was a really big deal, as anything involving designer paper, journalling pens, adhesives, and my creative process were things heretofore only utilized in my "art room" with the door closed.  But I made a couple decisions about this whole goal.  Number one, there is no way I will ever be able to sit down and create a perfectly coordinated chronological collection of each kid's most precious moments.  What I have to start with is already somewhat mix-n-match, and I never really love the way a page looks even after I have put a bunch of focused energy into creating a pinterest-worthy masterpiece.  Number two, I will be getting rid of all this stuff anyway, and my previous stinginess with my pretty things has got to go.  Number three, I am pretty sure that every kid would rather have a crooked page with misspellings and second-grader handwriting than a blank page.

So here it is--Henry's 4-minute interpretation of scrap booking!  And I love it!  Now, not only do we have the memories of the events in the pictures, but also the memory of him making the page.