happy family

In the past, I haven't really thought of scrapbooking as a way of documenting my memories. I've thought of it more as an artistic outlet: a way to use pretty things in pretty ways and then justify buying more pretty things to use in other pretty ways.

After becoming pregnant through IVF in the summer of 2009, I was hesitant to start putting any of my pregnancy thoughts on paper (scrapbook paper, that is). It felt odd to put such personal feelings "out there" and seemed risky to me, even though I didn't mind blogging about the feelings I was having. Something about the words being ON PAPER just made them more permanent.

So, in the fall, when the Studio Calico Yearbook Kit was about to be released, I began working on this layout.

I listed many of Greg's traits (good and bad).

I listed many of my traits (good and bad)

I pondered what our baby would inherit.

But in the 4th column, I listed all the things I knew that would be true about our family no matter who that little person was that we would soon meet.

The layout was constructed in its entirety except for an ultrasound photo, which I had ordered and was waiting to receive in the mail. In the meantime, I learned about our miscarriage.

Even though I loved the layout and the thoughts behind it, I couldn't even think about posting the layout in the gallery, neither did I want to look at it myself.

Now, a year later, I feel so much differently. I'm glad I never affixed that original ultrasound photo to the page, because today, I was looking through my old album and found this layout. I read it and had all the same thoughts as I did before, only this time, it was about Claire, the baby who's been kicking me and causing me to swell for the last several weeks. That's the baby I will meet and get to know and discover.

I know whatever type of person she is (hopefully a punctual one and one that closes cabinet doors), I will love her and she will be part of our family.


So, a little bit about the layout construction. All of the journaling was done with a typewriter. Of course a 12" sheet of cardstock won't fit through a typewriter, so I cut the page in half. Then, I cut 4 strips of patterned paper into 3" strips and punched with a 2" square. Those were lightly adhered to the two 6" sections of kraft and fed through the typewriter. After that, I stitched around each square and added the photos and embellishments.

Let me know if you have any questions!