Family... one of the favorite projects!

 Next up on our "lesson" in learning about the 12 things that we can change immediately that will make a difference in our lives is on.... FAMILY!

 What we discussed is that respect from others is worth nothing if we do not have the respect of our loved ones. While talking about this, we discussed the importance of preserving and protecting our time with our families.  John Maxwell talked about how he protects his days off when he is to bhe with his family.  He said in his book, "Anyone who neglects or abandons his family for fame, status, or financial gain isn't really successful."

 We also talked about the energy we pour into our daily activities. Often it is the people we work with who get our best and not the people we love the most... our husbands and children.  It is vital for us to save some of our best for our spouses and not expect them to just survive on the leftovers.  John discusses how he saves some special information that he has learned during that day that he hasn't shared with anyone else to tell his wife when he gets home.  That way he is still energized and they share something special.

 It is said that you should never let yourself feel that you ought to be at work when you're with your family, and you should never feel that you ought to be with your family when you're at work.  That's a great way to look at it, don't you agree?!

 This project was made to use family photos and use a background formed by torn scrapbook papers.

 I totally loved this quote from Make Today Count...."The relational foundation of any family is a couple's marriage.  It sets the tone for the household, and it is the model relationship that children learn from more than any other. "  Dude... being a mother to two small children, I really, really want to make sure they see parents who love and mutually respect each other.  I make my marriage a high priority and intentionally spend time working on it.  And LOVE times  like this past weekend when I was able to spend one on one time with my main man!  These intimate getaways makes our family of four stronger and happier. 

 One final thing regarding family is that thinking that "feelings" is the barometer for the health of a marriage makes it destined for a break up.   Marriage requires daily discipline and commitment.  PERIOD!

 Just look at Karie's sweet family (above).  I know, mainly because one of her values was loyalty, that Karie is very dedicated to her family. 

 Emery made the above collage in the class and did the one below as a sample of our project.  This is a photo of her niece that she photocopied and cut out.  She then used the scrapbook paper to make the background, in this case, re-creating a beach scene.

 Anne did this one of her and her beau.

 Rebecca also did a beach scene and is probably STILL talking about the fact that I made her do her own sea oats!!  She just knew that I could do better sea oats than she.  I hardly think so!  Good job, Rebecca.

 Tonya chose to use more patterned paper, and even cut some of the swirls from the pattern to embellish her background.

 Jennifer's son called her and told her that he wanted this saying on a canvas.  She had this cool photo of a dock with a sunset with her, so she cut it out and did a really cool background with his requested quote.

 Everyone loved that Lisa brought a photo of her and her man in the mountains of Alaska.  She got to do a mountain, and I was a little jealous!

 This is the family photo I chose.  It is of me and the rest of the Groves family at the beach this past summer.

 I painted the boardwalk to the right, added a little color to the black and white photo, used a stencil to add some swirls as clouds, and ripped cardstock for the rest.

Oh, and then I drug a dry paintbrush around the edges to give it a little border.  My family... the most important thing in the world to me.  The ones to whom I will give my utmost attention and love.  The ones I will absolutely schedule in special time with and the ones I will share special information with so we can have family "inside jokes" and "secrets".  I will remember that without a strong family, nothing else matters.  What have you committed to regarding your family!?

MO