intentional parenting Archives - Page 8 of 12

Project Life

“Cultivate a good life and document it”

That’s the slogan of Project Life. And I can’t believe it has taken me this long to find out about it.

I am NOT a scrapbooker. The thought of designing and even worse, creating a scrapbook page makes me want to cut my fingers off. It does not appeal to me.

Sure, I love the end product. But even then, I always had an “issue” with scrapbooking because it felt like it was more about the “stuff” than it was about the pictures. And I want my displays to be about the pictures. About the people. About the story.

So I’ve tried several different ways of displaying photos. And, unfortunately, I’ve just left a lot of my photos on my computer where no one gets to see them but me.

Until I found Project Life. It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. Simple. Affordable. And something I can keep current with. And it supports my intent to display photos that will enrich our family’s life. Project life is about the STORY, not about the STUFF.

I listened to a 3 day conference Becky Higgins (the creator of Project life) did online and decided we should probably be friends. Because our mission is the same. Document your life. Tell a story. CREATE a story/life (cultivate a good life). And in the process of doing that, you become more grateful, more aware, and more intentional.

“The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won’t make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either.” Donald Miller

Cultivate a good life, and then tell the story by documenting it.

Project Life goes hand-in-hand with the Tell My Story class.

Here’s how it works. You buy a Core Kit, an Album, and Sheet protectors (I use 40% off coupons and get them at Hobby Lobby or Michaels). Select and print your photos. Then it’s simple. You just slide pictures and journaling cards in pockets. And in no time, you have a completed album. (You can watch video demonstrations on the Project Life website)

There are a few reasons I prefer Project Life over an album you design digitally online.

First, I sit in front of a computer far longer than I’d like to for my business. Any more hours in front of the computer and my eyeballs might fall out.

Second, I like to be able to do it while I’m doing something else (like catching up on all my DVR shows, or sitting by kids while they do homework).

Third, it’s FAST. And super simple. Both of which are requirements in pretty much anything I do these days.

Fourth, they look AWESOME when they’re done. More visually interesting than a traditional photo album with pictures in pockets.

Fifth, my kids can get involved and help. They become invested in the project.

Sixth, you can also journal in the albums. There are “journaling cards” where you can write small amounts of information to supplement (note I said supplement as the pictures are the main focus of the album for me) the pictures.

Seven, you can make some killer unique gifts with Project Life. I’ll post some things I’ve done with them so far in a separate post.

But the biggest reason I appreciate Project Life is that I’m able to look through my albums and see what we’ve accomplished and what efforts we’ve made at living a good life story, but it also helps me see what we’re missing so we can be more intentional about our future and live the life we want to live.

The boxes also make a great spot for folding paper cranes. Folded 30ish of those (out of 1000) for a friend fighting stage 4 Lymphoma.

Try it out. I’m pretty sure you’ll fall in love like I have.
And your kids will love you!

And for those of you who aren’t really the scrapbooking type (which I’m totally not) check out the Project Life App. It’s a game changer!!

Click here to visit the Project Life website.

And for another idea on displaying photos in your home, click here for a super awesome wall display.

FUNBOOTH. The perfect alternative to traditional family pictures.

I get it. Getting family pictures can be super stressful. Finding the right clothes. Getting everyone ready. Finding a location. Getting there on time. Making sure the kids don’t still have ketchup on their face. Trying to act calm and happy while your kids are being terrors.

I get it. Trust me. I do.

But. Family pictures are SO important. So so important. One of those things you’ll always be glad you have and never regret that you did.

I also realize sometimes the stress is too much. Too overwhelming. And you have a kid that simply will NOT cooperate during family pictures. So you just never get them done. Even though you want to.

Which is why I came up with Funbooth sessions.

They’re fun. They’re FAST. They’re easy. And they work for kids with all different types of personalities.

The point is to be casual. Crazy. Fun. Like a photobooth.

Low stress. No weather elements. Sessions only take about 25 minutes. And you end up with a bunch of photographs with your family, your kids, and their personalities.

I’m doing a Funbooth sale during the month of April. Book a funbooth shoot in April for only $150 (normally $225). That includes the session fee as well as a disc with about 50 images in color AND black and white and a print release to make whatever prints you want.

Here are some samples of a session I did recently.

And here are a few I did with my own little family. We did these on a whim on a Sunday afternoon. We just wore the clothes we already had on. Simple. Easy. These are my favorite sessions to do with my own kids. The pictures I am in were taken by my husband. I know he’ll want proper photo credit. 🙂

Here’s how I displayed them in my own home. This is the first thing people see when people walk into my house. And people LOVE IT!! So do I.

Maybe I should have moved the vacuum. Oh well. Not taking it again. 🙂

So if you’ve been feeling guilty (or better yet, excited) about getting family pictures but haven’t done them for awhile, this is a great option.

Or, if you get family pictures regularly (GOOD FOR YOU) this may be a good alternative to change things up a little bit.

To book a Funbooth session, e-mail me at [email protected]

Sale runs until April 30th, 2014!

To Give or Not To Give money to the homeless. That’s not really the question.

A few month’s ago we celebrated my brother’s 40th birthday. I never in a million years thought we would celebrate that day. I didn’t think he’d be alive.

My brother is an alcoholic and an addict. He has a long history of drug and, more specifically, alcohol abuse. And just for the record, I have his permission to talk about this stuff.

He spent a few different periods of his life living on the streets of Salt Lake City. He was homeless. He was making choices that lead to this situation. We, his family, couldn’t force him to choose otherwise. And because of those choices, he was not allowed to live with any of us. It was awful. For everyone involved. I won’t go into details right now because that’s not really the point for writing this.

He spent some of the time sleeping at the Road Home. Some of the time he slept on people’s couches. “Friends”, I guess. Sometimes he was at the VOA (Volunteers of America). Other times he slept in fields, the mountains, the side of the road. Wherever he passed out sometimes.

And during many of those periods, he panhandled for money. At grocery stores, on the streets, at trax, in parking lots.

Our family got pretty good at not giving him money. Because we knew exactly what he’d use it for. And because we were doing all that “tough love” stuff in hopes it would compel him to make better life choices. That whole tough love thing was NOT easy for our family. It was horrific, really.

So when he asked for money on the streets, he was the stereotypical person who begged for money, then turned right around and used that money to buy drugs and alcohol. He WAS the person people don’t want to give money to because they assume you’ll use it to drink or get high.

But. He also used that money to eat. And buy socks. And a coat. And a backpack to hold his few meager belongings. And other seemingly small things. But those things are what kept him alive. Other people kept my brother alive when we couldn’t. We didn’t even know if keeping him alive was the right goal. Sounds awful to even say that, but it’s the truth. Anyone who has dealt with addiction on a personal level knows exactly what I’m talking about. It’s one of the most hopeless situations a person and family can be in.

During one of our many conversations about my brother’s life on the streets, he said to me “The worst part about asking people for money is they acted like you didn’t even exist. They acted like they couldn’t even hear you. And they looked right past you. Like I wasn’t even there. That was the worst part. It wasn’t about them giving me money or not. It was about them treating me like a worthless piece of shit.” (There may or may not have been some more expletives in that statement that I chose to leave out.)

I thought a lot about that. And started feeling pretty bad because I knew I was guilty of that very thing. Sometimes acting like those people asking for money weren’t even there. Walking right past them without looking at them. Hurrying past them and ignoring they’d even said anything to me. It was awkward for me sometimes. To deal with those people. To not give them money because I assumed I knew what they’d use it for. And I didn’t want to contribute to their “problem”. (Truth is, they’ll find the money somewhere, whether you give it to them or not–addicts are very resourceful when they have to be)

And then it struck me. It’s NOT about whether I give them money or not. Give them money, don’t give them money. I’m not saying one is right and one is wrong. But I could (and should) ALWAYS treat them like a human being. A person with a soul whose worth is as great as mine. Instead of asking myself, “should I give them money?” I ask myself “how should I treat this person?”

My brother was hit by a car after stumbling into the road while drunk. He was life-flighted (not his first time on a life-flight) and in the ICU for 3 weeks, the hospital for 5 weeks. (You can read the blog we kept while he was in the hospital right here). He has now been sober for roughly 2 years. After nearly 20 years of hard core alcohol and drug abuse, he is sober (for various reasons, including a traumatic brain injury). And people who gave him money, and treated him like a soul of worth, and took care of him at the VOA and Salvation Army, and sheltered him at the Road Home helped keep him alive.

His life is not all sunshine and roses even now that he’s sober. 20 years of uncontrollable alcohol abuse doesn’t just disappear. And he can still be a complete pain in the ass. But he’s alive. And our family wasn’t the only ones who helped keep him alive (though we fought tooth and nail to do that for him).

And I am grateful for that. Because he’s my brother. And he’s my parents son. And he has a good heart. And he’s taught me more about human compassion and being non-judgmental, and seeing the value and worth in every human soul, than any other person on this earth.

So now when I see someone asking for money on the side of the road, or at a stoplight, or the freeway offramp, or by temple square downtown I always try to remember that is someone’s brother, sister, mother, father, aunt, uncle, grandma, niece, nephew, son, or daughter. Someone cares about that person. Someone’s world is shattered because of the choices that person made. Someone, somewhere, loves that person and wishes with all their heart that person wasn’t out begging for money. And God loves that person JUST AS MUCH as he loves me.

“I am confident because I believe that I am a child of God. I am humble because I believe that everyone else is too.” Glennon Doyle Melton

And so I try to say hello to them. And I make eye contact. And I tell them I hope they have a good day. And sometimes I give them money. And sometimes I don’t. But I always try to make them feel like I care they exist in this world. I SEE them. And I HEAR them.

I am grateful for the people who did that for my brother. Grateful for people who reached out to him. Who showed him compassion. Who didn’t judge him. And for the people who gave him money. I’m grateful for them too.

It’s not about giving or not giving money. It’s about seeing every human being the way God sees them. And treating them accordingly.

{Side note. I am FULLY aware that some panhandlers do it as a “business”. And some panhandlers are rude and entitled and not very kind people. There is a WIDE variety of reasons people are asking for money on the street. I hope we can all be sensitive to those many and varied reasons. And not lump them all into one pool of people. And be grateful we’re not the ones asking for the money. And I want to emphasize I’m not professing whether or not people should give money. More than anything, I wrote this post for my kids. To help show them the need for human compassion and love. I am in NO WAY trying to start a debate on giving money to panhandlers. Just so we’re clear on that before people light me up in the comment section}

Where should I print my pictures?

I get asked this question alot.

My answer: It depends on what you’re using the pictures for.

I know most professional photographers will say to only get your photos printed at a professional lab. The only time I disagree with this, is based on your answer to the question, “What are you using the pictures for?”

If I am printing pictures 5×7 or smaller and they are intended for an album, like Project Life, I print my photos at Costco.

I did a test print of several different photos at four different printing labs: Costco, Walmart, Walgreens, and a professional lab. The photos at Walgreens turned out a little green because I forgot to uncheck the “auto-correct” button on their site (I always recommend turning OFF the auto-correct). The quality of the 4 different places was comparable but the coloring and “brightness” of each photo varied a bit. The key is to do a test print first and make sure you like the “look” of the printers there. It’s hard to see a comparison accurately over a computer screen since all monitors show colors differently. But this gives you an idea of how the photos can look a little different from place to place. Some people who are looking to decorate their homes might look into getting printed wall art to had that extra bit of art to their walls. If you are interested in finding out more about about getting your photo printed on acrylic to add your wall art, there are some companies out there that could help you to achieve this method.

Keep in mind when printing anywhere, what you see on your screen isn’t necessarily what you get from the printer (unless your monitor is calibrated to that specific printer). I have learned that Costco prints tend to be a little “dark”. So before I send them to Costco I lighten them up a little (bump up the exposure) through some editing software. All of the photos in this wall collage I did are from Costco.

OR I print my 4×6 photos at York Photo online. If you google “free 4×6 prints” a code for 100 free prints to york photo should pop up. You can use that the first time you order prints from them. They also have sales on their prints all the time so I have a folder on my desktop with pictures I want to print and I wait until there is a sale and then send a batch of those pictures in to be printed.

If I am printing bigger than 5×7 or printing anything large that will be hung on my walls, I use Pixels Foto and Frame (for the Utah readers, it’s on 90th S. and State Street in Sandy) or Persnickety Prints (in Orem, Utah)–Persnickety also ships for a flat rate and their customer service is unbeatable. Online I use Persnickety Prints or Mpix. These are all professional printing labs with affordable prices.

I use Persnickety for regular prints (they’ll do custom sizes which I love to do) and I also use them for matboard prints like this one:

Mpix has a bunch of novelty photo items like calendars and photo books and cards along with regular prints. I also use them for printing stickers and business cards.

Any photos I print I use a matte or lustre finish instead of glossy. Makes them look better in my opinion.

If you have never printed somewhere before and don’t know what the prints will end up looking like, just send a few photos to be printed. Then if you like how they look, you can send a bigger batch for prints.

I have been using Persnickety Prints the most lately. They do printing for Instagram pics (square photos) as well as Project Life album sizes (3×4’s). I also love their polaroid type prints and various sizes of square prints. They specialize in 12×12 prints (that work great with the Project Life app) and they make 5×5 mini photo books that work perfect with Instagram prints or as a custom book.

For some ideas on an incredibly easy way to document your family story, check out the Project Life App. It’s “scrapbook” cheating in the palm of your hand.

And for ideas on how to display photos in your home, you can check out several ideas of Wall Displays using photos here. And for even more, you can follow my Pinterest board “Photo display ideas”.

Sibling love

I am constantly grateful these two boys have each other. To play with. To love. To wrestle. To terrorize. To just BE together. What a life-long blessing to have a sibling to grow up with and be an integral part of your life story. Though we didn’t plan to have them so close together, I am thankful it worked out the way it did. Caleb adores his older brother and I hope it always stays that way. And Carter refuses to sit by Caleb at meal time because he’s “too messy”.

They keep me oh-so-busy. And I’m already dreading the day they both go to school and I’ll be buddy-less during the day. Boo. Double Boo.