Learning

Life has been busy and exciting for me lately, as I've been working with a good friend on a blog she created called Practical Scrappers. I've been putting a lot of time into the online world of scrapbooking. It's been time consuming, but it's also been fulfilling as I've seen how much I can be learning from others who share my passion. I am finding (or remembering) that when we share our ideas with people who love the same things we do, we are better able to define our passion and our beliefs. It works with anything - parenting, teaching, friendships. We all have our own perspectives and approaches to these things. When we compare ideas - what has worked and what has not, why we do what we do, or our frustrations, we realize to a finer degree what lies inside us. How DO I feel about poddy training at this age, or evaluating the papers of my students, or a structured bedtime? When I'm forced to speak aloud (or type) what I know about the topic at hand, my ideas become more real. And sometimes we realize that the things we "know" or thought we knew, maybe aren't the best ways to do things.

Last night I went with Christine to a party at which she was selling Close to My Heart product. I learned a lot that I thought I already knew including that scrapbookers are often using someone else's designs, or a template, to create all these beautiful pages! :) You mean, there are a lot of people that are getting directions on how to create pages?! :) ok, so I kindof knew this.

We get in our own little boxes we keep things to ourselves, and sometimes we're missing out on some really useful information. I don't want to do that with my parenting. I don't want my kids to think that their way of life is the only way of life. I don't want to do that with my creating or with my marriage. I want to learn more and keep learning. I want to use this info to better understand me and my family and my life.

So I bought a book. It's called Reflections. It has patterns in it for page layouts. It even tells you what paper you can/could use from the company and what embellishments will go just perfectly. Not sure that I'll be following their instructions to the letter. But I bet that a little bit of their direction, a lot of me and my style, and a little prayer and I can create something fantastic.

Apply to your own life as needed.

Now go learn something.