I have a few confessions to make:

#1- i am ecstatic that school starts in 2 weeks (am I a bad mom?)

#2-even more ecstatic that I get to start working next week at the preschool because there will be ADULTS there to talk with and free childcare for my kids while I prepare for the upcoming school year!

#3-I feel kind of burnt out on scrapbooking right now

#4-I LOVE fabric (see #3)

#5-Really loving reading at this moment (see #3)

Kids are driving me crazy...alone time in the bathroom is unheard of around here, as is the silence to make a phone call. ok, it is quiet until I decide to pick up a phone. uggghhhh!! Needless to say, I am really looking forward to school starting. Even if it means that i am going to start working part-time at the preschool. I am trading in my 3 kids for 15 others. not quite sure about my thinking there. I would really appreciate prayers for all of us in the new school year. :)

So why do I feel burnt out with scrapping? hmmm, a few ideas here. It could be the overwhelming amount of scrap supplies that I have (most unopened) and feel totally perplexed as to how I will use all of it before I die. The amount of paper here in my haven leaves me responsible for a small chunk of forest that is currently missing. Another idea for my sad feelings is that everywhere I look, I see the same designers and their work. Now, don't get me wrong, i think they are talented. I just think it is really hard for a newbie like me to get noticed when all the same people are getting picked for special projects, design teams, magazine calls. Why, yes, I do submit a LOT!! no luck yet, but I will keep trying. Nonetheless, I need to remember WHY I scrapbook....to remember my life with my family and to leave a footprint for our future generations. The affirmation of my talent as a scrapper would be wonderful....but it isn't what my life is about.

Also, in my attempt to really stay clear of many of my favorite internet, scrapbooking haunts, (for the purpose of being kind to my wallet) I have found out that I still really love fabric and the possibilities that lay ahead with the help of my trusty sewing machine. Now, before you start thinking about the high cost of fabric, just know that I have an insane amount of fabric that I have acquired in the past 6 mos or so. So I am still saving money. Even if I have to buy just a little something extra for a special project.

So what do you do when you are trying to save money? I say pick up a good book. I have been reading like crazy. The library has never seen so much of me. This is also good on the checkbook....don't buy it if you can borrow it for free. aahhhh, just makes me happy. I have also been really trying hard to have my quiet time with Jesus every day. I pulled out a devotional that was given to me awhile back but I never read. It is the perfect length & always gets me thinking about how awesome God is, especially to me. I think that the very same god that created the stars in the sky and amazing sunsets & magestic mountains created me & loves ME so much that He sent His Son to die for ME!!! Humbling. On this note, as I type this, my son is going round and round and round and round my scrapbook room. I ask him, 'what are you doing?". His response: "working on my figure 8's". Of course you are sweet boy....keep working.
Posted by Ericka at 1:43 PM joscelyne cutchens said...

girl, Isn't it amazing how much He loves us? and NO it doesn't make you a bad mom. by the way, don't hate me, but my boys went back to school on Monday! :)

I know the discouragement you feel trying to get published. keep trying, you are awesome! :)

July 30, 2008 at 11:37 AM mandy said...

thanks for sharing the realness of mommyhood and burnout. you are a phenomenal scrapper, mom and child of God. enjoy your books...a mother's heart is a great book!!

July 30, 2008 at 9:47 PM chksngr said...

I think you should feel blessed that your kids get to go to school and,there by, you get some of your sanity back. ALL a part of the plan! I love the figure 8's. Its these sorts of things that make us step back and say, "ok...no alone time in the bathroom was kinda worth that little bit of wisdom!" hee hee hee...

Keep submitting! Your work is beautiful and your art should be seen. The "in" thing changes soon enough and a new round of spaces will open up and make room for you!

LOVE that I'm not the only one struggling with focusing on and enjoying today for what it is and not wishing it were something else. Praise God that He lets us know we are not alone!

August 4, 2008 at 8:15 AM Well if you are a bad mom then I'm one also, LOL! We start back next Wednesday and I can't wait. Love the figure 8s, so sweet!
[null, {"document_url": "http://ereynolds77.blogspot.com/2008/07/confessions-figure-8s.html", "unformatted_src": "http://bp1.blogger.com/_ycLfRX_MyKU/SI_m2b0ryCI/AAAAAAAAAI8/EsV-q66NEXU/s320/DSC02125.JPG", "src": "http://bp1.blogger.com/_ycLfRX_MyKU/SI_m2b0ryCI/AAAAAAAAAI8/EsV-q66NEXU/s320/DSC02125.JPG", "formatted_filename": "DSC"}, {"document_url": "http://ereynolds77.blogspot.com/2008/07/confessions-figure-8s.html", "unformatted_src": "http://bp2.blogger.com/_ycLfRX_MyKU/SI_m2w4WClI/AAAAAAAAAJE/kfDbiBS7k-E/s320/DSC02126.JPG", "src": "http://bp2.blogger.com/_ycLfRX_MyKU/SI_m2w4WClI/AAAAAAAAAJE/kfDbiBS7k-E/s320/DSC02126.JPG", "formatted_filename": "DSC"}, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, {"document_url": "http://ereynolds77.blogspot.com/2008/07/confessions-figure-8s.html", "unformatted_src": "//1.bp.blogspot.com/_ycLfRX_MyKU/Sfd1LvgtY0I/AAAAAAAAANo/PwKKzY8Kw_c/S220-s75/just+me.jpg", "src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ycLfRX_MyKU/Sfd1LvgtY0I/AAAAAAAAANo/PwKKzY8Kw_c/S220-s75/just+me.jpg", "formatted_filename": "just me", "alt_text": "My photo", "rendered_width": 75, "rendered_height": 49}, null, null, null, {"document_url": "http://ereynolds77.blogspot.com/2008/07/confessions-figure-8s.html", "unformatted_src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ycLfRX_MyKU/R1b6uCf5oNI/AAAAAAAAAAM/9LqmNp5jZV8/S300/DSC_0067.JPG", "src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ycLfRX_MyKU/R1b6uCf5oNI/AAAAAAAAAAM/9LqmNp5jZV8/S300/DSC_0067.JPG", "formatted_filename": "DSC", "rendered_width": 240, "rendered_height": 160}, null, null]