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This photo is from the Target (aka Targe) ad two weeks ago. I love strawberries and this is a good price for them, especially at this time of year, so of course I was drawn to it. Doesn't it make you hungry? Then I looked at it and thought ... that would make a great layout! Check back to see what I come up with! Amber and All My Memories
I have been married a full year!!! It feels like just yesterday that we met, but I always say "no road is too long with good company!!!" I can't wait to travel the many others that come our way!!!
He is a wonderful companion and will always be my BEST FRIEND!!!! Kimberly
***Add Comment to be entered into our November Blog Contest***
While trying to come up with something meaningful to blog on today, I ran across this article by Carleton Kendrick. After reading it, I feel inspired to live a more grateful life. My challenge to you (and myself) today is two-fold:
At All My Memories, we are grateful to you, our customers and students, and your willingness to share your special gifts with us. Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Amber and All My Memories
p.s. I hope you enjoy the article!
Why not use this Thanksgiving Day as the first step toward becoming a more grateful family? Giving thanks for one's blessings on this holiday is traditional. Feeling grateful every day is an attitude and a way of experiencing life. If you want to cultivate gratitude as a family value, the following questions can help you make giving thanks an integral, daily part of your lives.
How can we give thanks every day?
Focus on creating both individual and family rituals. Keep "gratitude journals"; set aside time for family prayer; try to be more physically affectionate with one another; make an effort to express your appreciation and encouragement (the dinner table is the perfect place to do this). Giving your thanks daily establishes gratitude as a priority in your family.
What do we take for granted that we might express thanks for every day?
We all need to open our eyes and appreciate our daily gifts: food, shelter, clothing, good health, friendship, the beauty of nature, and the kindness of others. Talking about ways to increase our awareness of these daily blessings is productive.
Is doing for others a way of expressing gratitude?
Discuss how helping others is gratitude in action. You might not only prepare and/or help serve a holiday meal at a homeless shelter, but also talk about how your family can make a commitment of time and service to this shelter on a regular basis. Expressing thanks by actively helping others in an ongoing way can be one of your family's "gratitude goals."
What attributes do you possess that you are thankful for?
This self-examination encourages self-gratitude, helping us pause to appreciate our skills, talents, and personality traits. If we've lost sight of our special gifts, this gives family members an opportunity to point them out to us: "You are the best listener." "You always manage to cheer us up when we're down." "You can fix anything that's broken."
Who has treated you with kindness and generosity, and how would you like to thank that person?
Gratitude can take many forms - a homemade gift, a thank-you card, a phone call, a spontaneous favor. Remembering those who have made us feel special and valued encourages us to become more aware and appreciative of human kindness. You might discuss ways to show your gratitude by passing on a person's kindness through your own acts of generosity.
Teaching your children by example how to make their gratitude known is at the core of teaching them how to appreciate and celebrate the abundance in their lives. These are lessons learned throughout a lifetime, not merely discussions we have at Thanksgiving dinner.
Sometime in mid-October I was visiting www.creatingkeepsakes.com and came across an article by Candice Stringham that gave tips for taking Halloween pictures. You can read it here.
The tip that stuck out to me most was "I suggest trying something new this year; get out those costumes a few days early. Your kids will be super excited to don their new costumes early and they will be much more willing to cooperate."
My friend, Carey and I decided we would try this. On the day before Halloween (thanks to the UEA weekend) we went to Gardner Village and took pictures. Like the article said ... the kids were excited to don their Halloween costumes early (all but Marshall, the oldest and he was a still great sport). Here are some of my favorite shots:
Amber and All My Memories
Nicole has left AMM in order to spend more time with her two beautiful children and husband.
Nicole said she "absolutely loves teaching, creating and sharing her passion for paper crafts with others". She will miss teaching, but needs to put her time and attention into her family.
Thank you, Nicole, for being a part of our "family"! Good luck in all you do! Your All My Memories friends
Some close friends of our family have recently gone through some very tough times. Their little baby has been at Primary Children's Hospital for the last few months with some heart problems. Some of you may have seen the story on the news. (If not, you can read about her here). We have been following her trials for a few months now, and everyday it causes me to stop and remind myself how blessed I am to have a healthy baby.
That being said, many of you have heard me say that we have no family scrapbooks. In fact, we haven't even had a family picture taken since my husband and I were married. I've been putting off getting them done for one reason or another. And, I've come to this conclusion: We need family pictures! I need to document our family, even if I haven't lost all the baby weight and poor Jackson has eczema all over. This is our family. We are happy and healthy and grateful for that!
I've learned from watching our friends that things can happen that will change our lives. We never know what the future holds and we need to document the here and now. So, I have scheduled family pictures for next week and I've even got the album done already!
That is my challenge: Don't put off documenting all those things that you have to be grateful for! And, if you need an idea of how to do that, here are some pictures of the family album that I created.
Complete pictures and instructions will be available on my blog after we get our pictures done!
Mandi
P.S. I would like to help out those of you who, like me, have been putting off your family photos. There is a trust fund set up for Kaidence at America First Credit Union and they really could use all the help they can get. So, for any of you who make a donation of $10.00 or more to her trust fund, please leave a comment on my blog and you will be entered into a drawing to win a family photo sitting from Silverscape Photography! Donations can be made by calling or visiting America First. The trust fund is set up under the name Kaidence Stevenson. (Please save your receipt!) The contest will run from now until November 23rd!
This month's contest!? It's EASY!
Comment on the blog in November and one of you will win a $25 gift certificate to AMM!
Amber and All My Memories
... Our October winners and their winning comments:
Staci and Lacey will get the autographed magazines. Peggy Sue and Sherie will get the My Mind's Eye project. Thanks for playing! I'll be contacting the winners with instructions on how they can collect their prizes.
Amber and All My Memories
Oh my, I just realized I didn't draw the winner for the contest yesterday! Comment away and I'll draw a winner on Monday at 9:00 am. You've got a couple more days!
It's here! We've got Figgy Pudding in stock and ready for purchase. It went in a couple of days a week ago.
Here's our new Project of the Month. Come into the store & see it. Click here if you'd like to download the instructions.
ENJOY! Amber and All My Memories
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