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Archive for sketch journal – Page 5

sketch stories . How we came to have our Summer Jar

With the arrival of summer vacation, we’ve placed our Summer Jar on the coffee table. For the last several years, we’ve used the jar to inspire fun activities to help us make the most of our summer days. The summer jar “things” are really just ordinary. Yes, some are fun trips to take or experiences we want to repeat. But, some things are just things we do at home. Some things nobody would understand but us. But, when we look back at the end of our short 75 days of summer vacation, I hope the Summer Jar “things” will help us know we’ve had a summer. And we’ve lived it. And loved during it. We tend to rush. And, sometime we need reminders to slow down. To enjoy one another. To find joy. And to capture each moment fully.

For me, along with Summer Jar, part of my desire for the summer is to recapture some of my own creative spirit that’s been germinating over the last few months. I want to pursue some new ideas, some new media, and some new and more unfiltered ways of sharing thoughts… of telling stories. Today’s “sketch story” is a small glimpse.  I don’t have a grand plan. I don’t know if I can really explain what I want to do, and if I could, I would need way more space than what I have here. So, I’ve decided to embrace the sprit of wonder and curiosity and real thought, and just go with whatever comes next. I hope to infuse this blog space with an even more authentic glimpse of my heart and creative pursuits. So, you may begin to see some changes and experiments. I hope you’ll take these steps with me, and that they’ll perhaps offer some inspiration in chasing your own dreams and ideas.

letters to my children . 052317

Woo Hoo! Summer is here. We finished up the school year today, and I’m so proud of my little ones. You made it!! Let’s celebrate!

sketch journal 052217 . Summer Begins

Our summer vacation begins officially on Wednesday afternoon when the school year ends, and we can hardly wait! I’m very excited to have my children home with me for unscheduled time. The summer is usually a crazy balancing act of enjoying family activities and keeping up with freelance work for this short season of play and fun. 75 days. That’s how much time we have before another school year begins and they continue the inevitable rush to growing up. But, for summer, we all seem to stand still and just enjoy each other. I’m determined to take advantage of every minute — even those minutes when we are doing nothing special. Last year, in my daily journal, I wrote the number of days remaining in our summer vacation in the corner of each day’s box. It was a bittersweet discipline of watching these precious free days with everyone together, and recording our adventures on the best laptop for music production which also used to make awesome video films. This  morning as I added the countdown numbers to this week, I was reminded of this favorite quote from Thornon Wilder… “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” Here’s to a summer of seeing and soaking up treasures!

letters to my children . 050117

To my babies. To all our babies…

Today is hard. It may even be very hard. So hard you are tired of it. Very tired. You may be hurt. Or confused. Or afraid. You may not think there’s an end to what you face. But, there will be. You may not think you can make it. But, you can. You CAN. You may not believe you are strong enough. But, you are. You may not believe you’re worth it. But, you are.  You may not think there’s a shred of hope. But, there is. There IS. Today, you may not believe there’s a way through this struggle in front of you. But we can find one. Together. You may not feel brave. But, a day will come when you are. Another day will come. Give that day a chance. Just a small chance. Today is hard. Very hard. So hard you give up on it. Just, please. Please. Don’t give up on tomorrow.

sketch journal . 042617

I’ve been nurturing the salvia around my studio bay window through the Spring, especially as we’ve started getting some days in the 80s. I’m trying to discipline myself to take note of the small, daily moments of beauty!

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