Forgiveness

A friend of mine has the coolest site. Forward Progress. This month's prompt was Forgiveness. This was so difficult for me. So much so, that I actually called my parents and confronted them. Something I haven't been able to do in years. I was able to voice feelings that I had held inside for years.

Doing this prompt helped me in the healing process.

With that being said...........here is my layout. The picture is an older one of me. I wanted it to represent that I am NOT that person any longer. I will post the hidden journaling here. I am going to slip it back into the pocket I made and then staple it shut when I am done. I will then put this layout in my personal Book of Me. I don't want my children to read this until they are older and able to understand.

(Journaling Below)



This I know..........

I was there for my childhood. I was there for the abuse, manipulation, fear and shame. I was there when it was all brought to light and then denied. I was there when I waited for an apology but was instead called a liar. I was there when the one person who should have stood up for me chose her house, money and status instead of the safety of her children.

Can I forgive? I truly try. Some days I can. Some, it is not possible.

THIS I KNOW....I will never be that person who sits back when wrong is being done.
THIS I KNOW.......I will go forward from this point. I will choose to make sure MY children always feel safe and loved.
THIS I KNOW.......I will make it a point to let my brothers and sister know WE aren't to blame for our childhood, but we survived it. All of us are coping in our own ways but we are ALWAYS there for one another. I find comfort in that.

THIS I KNOW....I will take each day as it comes. I will NEVER again live in fear.

The love of my life...............

For our anniversary we went to one of our favorite places together. Our dear friend Billie runs a Bed and Breakfast in Cottonwood Falls. We took off on Thursday the 13th. It was kinda weird when we looked at the clock and both of us realized we were going away at exactly the time our wedding began all those years ago. Our first evening, we had picked up some wine and a few steaks and grilled them on the patio. Our friend Billie snapped these pics of us..........we were both MORE than a bit tipsy from the yummy wine we had with our steaks. So, we look rather goofy but we don't care, we had a blast sitting on the patio, just the two of us in the cool evening, listening to music, enjoying the GORGEOUS landscape.

Here is a layout I did with those horrible pictures.........LOL.

All the products in this layout are from my DT pack I received from Bonnie at Scrapadilly!



Supplies:
Cardstock:Dotted Bazzill From SCRAPADILLY
Pattern Paper:Green FloralFrom SCRAPADILLY
Little Garden/Pink TulipFrom SCRAPADILLY
Transparency: Little Yellow Bicycle Clear CutsFrom SCRAPADILLY
Flowers: Evening Garden Awesome BlossomsFrom SCRAPADILLY
Rub-ons:Basic Grey Toffee From SCRAPADILLY
Punch:Fiskars From SCRAPADILLY
Other Items:
Brads: Making Memories
Small alphas: My Little Notebook

An Epiphany I've Had Recently...........

I was watching the movie "Gia" the other night and in it I heard the most true quote:

"This is life, not heaven, you don't have to be perfect."

It hit me...........HOW TRUE!! So with that being said......I had some pictures sitting around and wanted to scrap them with that quote. The problem? I just couldn't come up with anything that would work for those photos. A friend of mine over at Scrapadilly challenged me to scraplift a digital layout and I took her up on it. Here is the result. I added a bit of my own handwriting on the layout to add to the "Not Perfect" theme.



Another layout I finished this weekend is of our son Richie. He is 16 and for his birthday, our friend James gave him Maximus..........That dog WORSHIPS Richie. Not to mention.......we all LOVE Max!!