Raising Cubs in a Campground

A much needed blanket of fresh snow is falling outside as I sit curled up in the chair with our 5 month old puppy. I consider it my birthday gift. I'm turning over a new snowflake so to speak - entering a new decade. Forty. It reminds me of when I first starting blogging ten years ago on the eve of my 30th birthday. I was content. I wasn't upset about getting older. I had two beautiful children, a loving husband, and the love of friends and family near and far. Like then, today feels like a milestone - something to celebrate and not dread. Today I have THREE beautiful children, a husband who loves me, and the love of more friends and family near and far. I also have more wrinkles, more free time, more hobbies, and more life experience. The Bible verse I've claimed for this year is "Let all that you do be done in love." (1 Corinthians 16:14) and if I've learned anything in my 40 years I hope that it's that - love is all you need. The love of my Savio...

In honor of World Photo Day   I'm sharing some photos from the pages of our Pacific Northwest photo book I made after our road trip down the Oregon Coast. You can view the entire project by clicking here.   I designed the book using Blurb's free bookmaking software called Booksmart. It took me two days to reduce the 4,000 photos I took on our trip down to 708.  It is so important to make photobooks within the first two week of returning from a trip. (Did you catch that? Dirty laundry can wait - photo book takes priority!) I've followed this mantra ever since I returned from studying abroad in college. Back then I had to print out photos and buy albums/pages. It was SO expensive! I paid $500 for two albums from a three month trip to South America in 1997. Fast forward almost 20 years and I now design photo books for a living. I have always used Blurb.com for their quality printing, affordability, and flexible page layouts.  Full disclosure: I am not being...