Thank You Thank You Thank You!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who came and made scrapbooks with us today! I had no idea if one person or 40 people would show up, so I was very happy that 20 people were able to come! The only problem, however, was that I underestimated how long one scrapbook would take. I figured that if someone came for most of the time, they could get about 4 scrapbooks done. Oh how I wrong I was. There was only one person who got 2 scrapbooks done, and she did them simultaneously. Everyone else was able to get 1 done. But don't get me wrong, I'm so grateful for those! It just means that we have tons more to do! Several of you e-mailed me and told me that you couldn't make it but you'd love to do some on your own time, and that would be wonderful. Also, we will for sure be planning another get-together to get more done. But the ones that are done look amazing!!!! I love them all! So a huge thank you to everyone! And I guess I was so wrapped up in my own scrapbook album that I completely forgot to take pictures of us all scrapbooking away! Oh well, I'll just have to make sure I do take pictures next time we do it!

Also, I just wanted to say that I haven't forgotten about featuring blogs on Friday, I was just out of town one week, and then did forget the next week, so then I didn't really get back into the swing of things. I will, however, be doing more soon. So stay tuned....

You've been waiting for it...

Scrapbook Album Extravaganza

WHEN
Monday, May 25 (Memorial Day) between 8:30 and 11 a.m. Come whenever you can during that time period and put together one or multiple albums.

WHERE
1555 North 1350 West, Provo, Utah

WHO
Anyone who can! You don’t need to be super creative (although you can be) to be of help. Feel free to invite family and friends to join you!

WHAT TO BRING
The most crucial supplies to bring will be scissors and adhesives. We will have some there, but if we have a good turn-out, you will have to take turns using these items. Also, if you have any old scrapbook supplies you wish to donate or that you wish to use, feel free to bring these and share them with others.

We’re hoping to be able to get most if not all of these scrapbook albums done in this session, but we know we can’t do it alone. We hope you’ll all make an effort to come and join us. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

Hope to see you there!

Scrapbook Extravaganza

First of all, I just wanted to say congratulations to my sister and brother-in-law and a big welcome to the world to my newest niece!

Now, as for scrapbooking - we're not doing it this Saturday. So, for those of you planning on participating, would you rather do it this Monday in the morning (Memorial Day) or next Saturday (May 30) with the possibility that it may have to be delayed again if we do it next Saturday. Thoughts?

A Few Thoughts

1. Thank you to everyone who has given me positive feedback about my KSL High 5. It wasn't as embarrassing as I'd thought it would be (considering I hadn't showered) and it's kind of fun having people both that I know and don't know tell me that they saw me on TV.

2. On Saturday there was a Remembrance Walk for those in the area who have lost their babies or small children. It was definitely a tear-jerker. It makes me want to move to an area that doesn't have any of these amazing resources of support that we have so that I can start them there and bless others' lives with them. If you're in an area that doesn't have these kinds of things, feel free to e-mail me and I can let you know all of the many resources we've been blessed with so you can possibly get some stuff started in your own area.

3. In my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is no paid preacher or pastor. The ones who speak or give talks are members of the congregation. I was asked to give a talk this past Sunday (Mother's Day). Because of time constraints, I only gave the first half of my talk, which was basically my story of motherhood. I feel pretty good about how it went, but sometimes I wonder if I come across as always talking about myself because of the fact that I bring up Emma's story so often. Tim doesn't think so, but he's an amazing husband who loves just about everything I do.

4. Scrapbook albums. For those of you who are new, let me go back a bit. After Emma died, the hospital gave us several things for mementos. One of which was a pre-made scrapbook album. I also had a cousin-in-law give us one. I loved both of these books and it was so nice to just print pictures and stick them in and then have them ready for display at Emma's funeral. However, the lady who runs the whole bereavement support thing said that they don't have very many left and the original ones were all donated. So I have had a few different scrapbook stores and people donate scrapbook supplies and/or money and we now have everything we need to put these together! So we're thinking that on Saturday, May 23rd sometime in the morning, anyone and everyone is invited to come join us to put these together. Whether we know you or not, you're invited! I'll be posting more exact details sometime next week (like place and time), but tentatively put it on your calendars. The more the merrier!

5. Pregnancy and birth in general can really mess with your hormones, but since losing Emma, I didn't realize the tremendous swing there really would be. My self-esteem has had some of it's highest highs and some it's lowest lows over the last little while. Lately I've been on the lower end and I've been trying to figure out what will help me the most to kind of get out of my low self-esteem funk. One thing I've decided is that I'm going to be checking and posting on blogs less. So I apologize, but Emma's Story will not be updated as often as it used to be (which used to be every couple of days). I also apologize for the lack of comments I will be leaving on others' blogs, but at this time I want to spend more quality time with my boys and husband, as that is what truly makes me happy.

6. Just a friendly reminder that the Running With Angels 5k is this Saturday. We are already signed up and ready to go! Come run with us (or you can run and then leave us behind when we have to start walking)! Click here for my original post about it.

Here's the Link

Thanks to Staci for e-mailing me this link. I tried to find it myself, but I couldn't. Here's the link to the story and the news clip for my High 5:

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=6415217

I also wanted to give credit to Julie Whiteley for many of the photos. She's given us permission to use them however we'd like, so my sister sent some to KSL 5 and they attributed them all to her.

E-mails

I really don't think I can thank you guys enough for the love, the support, the prayers, and everything else that you've shown us over the last while. I know I say it a lot (that I can't thank you guys enough) but that's because it's true. You are all so wonderful.

I also wanted to thank those of you who have e-mailed me and shared with me your stories. The e-mails aren't flooding in, but I have gotten quite a few e-mails from people across the globe who have similar and not so similar stories. I am so grateful for the stories and words that you have shared with me. They have touched my heart and I'm happy to know that Emma's story has touched your hearts as well.

So once again, I say thank you.

And for those who have asked, my High 5 is being aired on KSL5 tomorrow morning at around 6:25 (possibly a few minutes earlier).

My High 5!

This what the producer had to say about when it will air:

"May 8th, the Friday before Mother's Day. We figured that would be a nice gift for her, and a tribute to mothers everywhere. So, let people know May 8th at around 6:25. I'd tune in sooner just to make sure you don't miss it."

So there you have it. Anyone want to invite me over around 6:15 in the morning this Friday so I can watch it (we don't have any tv stations) or anyone want to tape it for me?

P.S. Hawaii was wonderful.