I think every layout I do is special, but some are just a little bit more special than others. This is one of those layouts.
When we were in Washington DC for Police Week, I was very insistent that we go to the FDR Memorial. Dave and I had gone there in 1997, the first year the exhibit was open. They later added the statute of Franklin Roosevelt in a wheelchair. Dave and I wanted to take Caleb there.
Caleb was diagnosed with SMA when he was two years old. Once he was old enough I started reading him biographies of people with disabilities who went on to do great things - Louis Braille (who was blind), Beethoven (who was deaf), Helen Keller (who was deaf and blind), and Franklin Roosevelt (who couldn't walk because of polio) - just to name a few. Dave and I knew that Caleb would have physical limitations, but we wanted to consistently expose him to those who overcame their physical disabilities. I know he doesn't understand right now, but I'm hoping one day his story will be inspiring. I know he can do great things!
Something really awesome happened when we visited. This statute, which is the only one of its kind depicting FDR in a wheelchair, was right at the entrance to the memorial and a tour guide was actually speaking to a group when Caleb and Zach first saw it. Caleb and Zach went racing to the statute, not caring at all about the audience, with excited shouts of, "Look, Mommy! He's in a wheelchair."I hung back trying to get their attention when I noticed that several people in the group started taking pictures of the boys looking at the statute. I actually teared up a little. I was so proud of my boys, and I have a feeling Caleb might have inspired a few people . . . . I wish Dave could have shared this moment and overwhelming emotion with me.
Journaling Close Up
I scrapbook to capture memories of my boys - I don't want to forget the important moments. A lot of times in my journaling, I write to the boys. I like to tell them what I was thinking, or why Dave and I did the things we did. Maybe one day they will read all my "love notes" to them. I'm so far from a perfect mother or even the mother I want to be. Being thrown into single parenting has created so much stress and I can't do everything Dave and I had planned. I hope, despite the tragedy the three of us have suffered when we lost Daddy, the boys will know how much their parents adored them - that's why I write to them, and a big reason why I scrapbook.
Embellishment Close Up
Hearts made the perfect embellishments for this layout. But I wanted them to stand out. So I took pattern paper scraps and embossed them using The Stamps of Life swirl embossing folder then inked the edges. I adhered them using foam adhesive to add dimension.
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