Missing Dad

Hey there! I am here today with a layout featuring a few of the many fabulous Glitz Design embellishments! With Father's Day a few days away, I have been thinking a lot about and missing my dad. This is my second Father's Day without him, and I still miss him as much as ever. Scrapbooking is still a part of the healing process, and brings to mind the precious memories of the past.

I'm a very visual scrapper, and there isn't a lot of pre-planning that goes into my projects. Once I choose the photo, the rest of my project flows from there. I added the journaling to the photo in Photoshop, then printed it off in two sizes to give me more design options. With the photo in hand, I usually compile my primary supplies choosing papers and embellishments that compliment the photo. 

For this layout, I stamped the "Hello Friend" cloud stamps onto the scraps of photo paper leftover from printing, then cut them out by hand. To punch decorative shapes from washi tape, cover a piece of card stock with strips of washi tape in the desired width and simple punch. Mixing and matching embellishments from six different lines allowed me to add lots of tiny hearts in a variety of tones. Finishing the layout off with a couple of rolls of the chevron Roller Doodle draws the eye back to the photo again. 

"Enjoy the Little Things" layout supplies:

Glitz Design "Felicity" paper: Floral

Glitz Design "Brightside" 6x6 paper pad

Glitz Design "Brightside" Alphas & Accents sticker sheet

Glitz Design "Felicity" Alphas & Accents sticker sheet

Glitz Design "Black & White" Alphabets & Words sticker sheet

Glitz Design "Black & White" Titles & Accents sticker sheet

Glitz Design "Hello Friend" rubber stamps

Glitz Design Tiny Roller Doodle - chevron

Glitz Design "77" puffy words

Glitz Design "Carpe Diem" giant rhinestones

Glitz Design washi tape - pink glitter

other: cardstock, doily, mist, ink, tulle and paper clip

Messages from Heaven

Nearly every change of season brings us a fresh batch of color combination trends to try. This fall the Glitz team is taking the Green/Pink/Neutral combo for a spin. I had a hard time choosing between white and warm gray for my neutral, so in the end I went with both. The white I kept as a canvas and the warm gray as the accent. 

The photo was extra special to me because it was a little memento I found of my dad's one day when cleaning my house. When he was sick his pockets were always supplied with cough drops that had little messages on the wrappers. This was one of the wrappers I found not long after he passed away. It was like a little message from heaven. 

"Nothing You Can't Handle" Supplies:
Glitz Design "Finnley" paper: Drip
Glitz Design "Wild & Free" 6x6 Paper Pad
Glitz Design "Finnley" 6x6 Paper Pad
Glitz Design "Dapper Dan" Rubber Stamps
Glitz Design "Finnley" Titles & Accents Sticker Sheet
Glitz Design "Finnley" Alphabets & Words Sticker Sheet
Glitz Design "Hello Friend" Washi Tape
other: typewriter, VersaMark ink, Stickles glitter glue, star sequins (Studio Calico), lace punch (Martha Stewart Crafts), circle punch, embossing powder and ink (Stampin Up)

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today one of the most precious gifts of my life, my dad, entered into eternity. He taught me how to live and to laugh, to hope and to pray, to find the beauty in those around you... to love. He showed me by living to be the kind of parent I hope to be, the kind of Christian I hope to be, the kind of person I hope to be. I love you Daddy. I miss you every day.

Treasuring Moments

This week for Glitz we worked on projects featuring the men in our lives. This year I've been reflecting on my dad - this first Father's Day without him. I scanned and printed this photo of my dad with my siblings and I taking a ride on his back. It's one of my most fond memories from growing up, playing and laughing together as a family. He really was an amazing dad, who devoted his whole heart each day to his family. I cannot help but think of how thankful I am for every memory, every moment that I had with my dad. So this year I am trying my level best to take hold of each moment, treasuring the memories and counting each blessing. 

Glitz Designs "Color Me Happy" papers: Hearts, Bits & Pieces
Glitz Designs "Uncharted Waters" 8x8 Paper Pad
Glitz Designs "Uncharted Waters" Paper Garland
Glitz Designs "Uncharted Waters" Rubber Stamps
Glitz Designs "Yours Truly" Peek a Boos
Glitz Designs "Cashmere Dame" Washi Tape - blue polka
Glitz Designs "Beautiful Dreamer" Trim
other: sequins, ink, white card stock, sewing machine

grandpa

Yesterday our family spent the evening at St. James Cathedral in Seattle with my grandparents. My grandpa (my dad's dad) is getting baptized at the Easter Vigil in March. My grandpa is one of the most honorable, generous and kind people walking the planet today. He tenderly cared for my dad, and sat long hours in the hospital with us last year when Dad was sick. My dad would have loved to be with us as we walked with Grandpa to meet the bishop and sign his name in the Book of Life. I was overwhelmed with mixed emotions of joy and sorrow, thinking how overjoyed my dad would have been and how sad I was that he was not physically there with us. I am thankful for my family and each precious moment we have together. Taking hold of each day we live out the gift of everyday life.

Grandpa and Bishop Eusebio Elizondo

St. James Cathedral, Seattle

Grandma & Grandpa with the girls

my grandparents

“A Second Childhood.”

When all my days are ending
And I have no song to sing,
I think that I shall not be too old
To stare at everything;
As I stared once at a nursery door
Or a tall tree and a swing.

Wherein God’s ponderous mercy hangs
On all my sins and me,
Because He does not take away
The terror from the tree
And stones still shine along the road
That are and cannot be.

Men grow too old for love, my love,
Men grow too old for wine,
But I shall not grow too old to see
Unearthly daylight shine,
Changing my chamber’s dust to snow
Till I doubt if it be mine.

Behold, the crowning mercies melt,
The first surprises stay;
And in my dross is dropped a gift
For which I dare not pray:
That a man grow used to grief and joy
But not to night and day.

Men grow too old for love, my love,
Men grow too old for lies;
But I shall not grow too old to see
Enormous night arise,
A cloud that is larger than the world
And a monster made of eyes.

Nor am I worthy to unloose
The latchet of my shoe;
Or shake the dust from off my feet
Or the staff that bears me through
On ground that is too good to last,
Too solid to be true.

Men grow too old to woo, my love,
Men grow too old to wed;
But I shall not grow too old to see
Hung crazily overhead
Incredible rafters when I wake
And I find that I am not dead.

A thrill of thunder in my hair:
Though blackening clouds be plain,
Still I am stung and startled
By the first drop of the rain:
Romance and pride and passion pass
And these are what remain.

Strange crawling carpets of the grass,
Wide windows of the sky;
So in this perilous grace of God
With all my sins go I:
And things grow new though I grow old,
Though I grow old and die.”

― G.K. Chesterton, The Collected Poems of G. K. Chesterton

N.Joy

Years ago my dad brought a creamer packet like this home from work for me. He thought it was so great that it had my "name" on it N.Joy (for Noel Joy). My mom thought it was goofy, but I kept it for years. I saw it today and it made me think if my dad. It is now my license plate on my car, and my daily reminder of my dad.

N♥Joy

Friday was a crazy busy day with lots of running around, but the sun was beautiful and we enjoyed its appearance. It was so bright the girls could hardly keep their eyes open for the shots. Out of the whole lot, I think I only ended up with 3 or 4 with their eyes open... here are two of them. 

"On the third day the friends of Christ coming at day-break to the place found the grave empty and the stone rolled away. In varying ways they realized the new wonder; but even they hardly realized that the world had died in the night. What they were looking at was the first day of a new creation, with a new heaven and a new earth; and in a semblance of the gardener God walked again in the garden, in the cool not of the evening but the dawn." 

-G.K. Chesterton, 'The Everlasting Man'

life worth living

Spent part of the day, my dad's birthday, reading through one of my dad's prayer journals. It is a gift, and it is a struggle. I can hear his heart's cry in every page, and I see his faith and hope and love... and it makes me miss him. He was a truly precious gift.

"All the most dramatic things happen at home, from being born to being dead. What a man thinks about these things is his life: and to substitute for them a bustle of electioneering and legislation is to wander about among screens and pulleys on the wrong side of the pasteboard scenery; and never to act the play. And that play is always a miracle play; and the name of its hero is Everyman."

-G.K. Chesterton, Irish Impressions

{dad}

Happy birthday daddy. 

I am sitting here trying to think of something to say, a way to put into words the things that are in my heart. Again I am at a loss. Last year he was here, sick but with a real fighting chance, full of the hope of recovery. He was counting down the days until he could get back to work, and trying to figure out how to eat the things he liked with no salt. Our friend, Brother Leonel came and made him a homemade Mexican feast (including homemade cheese and tortillas) all with no salt. We were together. 

I treasure each of those little moments, and have been reflecting on them a lot these days. I am reminded again to cherish each day. You never know when this might be the last moment, the last Christmas, the last birthday you may have with someone. I have read this reflection on the Book of Job several times over the past few days which has been a comfort.

"Indeed the Book of Job avowedly only answers mystery with mystery. Job is comforted with riddles; but he is comforted. Herein is indeed a type, in the sense of a prophecy, of things speaking with authority. For when he who doubts can only say 'I do not understand,' it is true that he who knows can only reply or repeat 'You do not understand.' And under that rebuke there is always a sudden hope in the heart; and the sense of something that would be worth understanding." - G.K. Chesterton, 'The Everlasting Man'

Dad's 60th birthday

last year

One Year Ago Today and Yesterday

Last night I was thinking about last year. One year ago yesterday, my dad called me up at around 10pm. I didn't think much of it as he often called me late at night, especially when Stan was deployed. He'd call up and say, "Hey sweetie, are you awake? Do you mind if I stop by for a visit?" (My dad worked nights for 15 years, and was very much a night owl like myself.) I would almost always answer yes, and he'd reply with, "Oh good, because I'm in the driveway." We'd stay up until 2 or 3am, watching movies or talking about life and faith or all of the above. I didn't expect this call to be any different, but it was. 

At 10pm the girls were tucked in bed and asleep, and Dad called. He asked if I could go to the store and get him some juice. It was an unusual request. He zipped around all over the place picking up this and that everyday. He was always able to drive, and loved visiting with strangers at the store (or anywhere else). The girls were tucked in bed, and I was a little concerned. I asked him if he was ok. He said he'd be all right, but didn't feel well and could really use some juice to help his stomach pain. I ran to the store, picked up the juice and took it to my parent's house. (My mom was an early to bed gal, and he didn't want to wake her.) When I arrived at the house he looked bad... really bad. His skin looked grey and ashy, something was not right. I asked if he needed me to take him to the hospital, but he said no. I asked again several times, and said if it got worse he'd call. I headed home a bit later with an unsettled feeling, and called my sister. She thought I should give it another try to get him to the hospital. I called back and asked dad if I could take him into the hospital. Again, he said he'd be all right. 

The following day I stopped by to see him, and still thought he really should go to the hospital. Mom ran a couple of errands while we waited for a call back from the doc. We waited through a good chunk of the day when my sister (who is the tough one) forced the hand and told dad we would either take him to the hospital or call the ambulance. She was right, and made things happen. She's very talented that way. Within a few minutes we were loading dad in the car and heading to the ER. 

Dad had been sick for several weeks and had been undergoing the regular battery of tests to try to figure out what was going on. He had a biopsy scheduled for the following day, so he had thought he could just wait it out. But with things taking a turn, it was into the hospital for us. In the ER with a doctor that looked like Doogie Howser, we found out that all of the fluid that hadn't been processing through his liver was infected in his abdomen. Thanks be to God we had taken him in. 

Today was the day that began our wild ride that was to be our 2012. I've been contemplating the events of the year in light of the liturgical year of the Church. There are times for feasting and for fasting, for rejoicing and for mourning and this is true of our life experience. As this year of reflection upon last year begins, I am thankful for every moment and memory that I have to reflect upon. 

I took this picture of my dad was we loaded up into the car to go to the Emergency Room, commencing a journey that would lead we knew not where. 

And this year...

This year we go about our daily lives, as if things are back to normal. Sometimes they feel that way, and sometimes they don't. But each day we have the opportunity to grasp hold of the beauty of life. Knowing that each moment truly is a gift, and we are never quite sure what the next will hold. I was comforted reading the following today.

"Indeed the Book of Job avowedly only answers mystery with mystery. Job is comforted with riddles; but he is comforted. Herein is indeed a type, in the sense of a prophecy, of things speaking with authority. For when he who doubts can only say 'I do not understand,' it is true that he who knows can only reply or repeat 'You do not understand.' And under that rebuke there is always a sudden hope in the heart; and the sense of something that would be worth understanding." 

-G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man

I know I posted this quote just a few days ago, but it resonates with my soul, so much that I am posting it again. 

All pessimism has a secret optimism for its object. All surrender of life, all denial of pleasure, all darkness, all austerity, all desolation has for its real aim this separation of something so that it may be poignantly and perfectly enjoyed. I feel grateful for the slight sprain which has introduced this mysterious and fascinating division between one of my feet and the other. The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost. In one of my feet I can feel how strong and splendid a foot is; in the other I can realize how very much otherwise it might have been. The moral of the thing is wholly exhilarating. This world and all our powers in it are fare more awful and beautiful than even we know until some accident reminds us. If you wish to perceive that limitless felicity, limit yourself if only for a moment. If you wish to realize how fearfully and wonderfully God's image is made, stand on one leg. If you want to realize the splendid vision of all visible things - wink the other eye. 

G.K. Chesterton, Tremendous Trifles