Police Academy - Two Page Scrapbook Layout

This boy of mine...gives me all of the feels. He's my oldest, and in his own way taught me how to be a Mom, a working Mom, and hopefully a good Mom. My kids are my pride and joy, even though they mess up along the way. I know I made my mistakes along the way as well. Right now, I will just talk about how proud I am of his service to our community!! My heart swells when I look back at these layouts from his academy days. He worked so hard to even get into the academy. It took almost a full year of applying, testing, interviewing and extreme physical demands in order to make his dream of being a Police Officer come true...and he did it!!

This picture above is the entire class after they were sprayed with tear gas so that they can experience how it feels. I can tell by their eyes that it was definitely not a pleasant experience. They also had to experience being tazed! Fun stuff.

He ended up graduating with HONORS! His class graduated right in the middle of all of the riots and protesting mid-2020. It's scary knowing that his life is on the line every day, but I know he is in the Lord's hands at all times. 

I hope you will stop by for more layouts! I'm trying to get back on a schedule of posting. Thanks for following along!
 

Two Page Scrapbook Layout - "Made in USA"

Did you all enjoy your Independence Day? There's always reason to celebrate living in a free country. We are blessed to be Americans!!

 I have no idea why the colors look so different on each of these pics. The center one that has more blue and white (less tan) is actually what it looks like. Sorry for the crazy vintage look of the other two pics. Not sure what I did.

 This layout is from our celebration in 2016!! Time sure flies, but how cute is my family?!?! I love them all so dearly! We're short a daughter-in-law in this picture. They were definitely dating then, but maybe she was out of town with her family or for some reason, just not pictured.

Does your family play cornhole?? It's one of our favorite outside games to do together. We now have a new, bigger yard to play in! Can't wait to take full advantage of that. :)

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!! Enjoy your week!!

Two Page Scrapbook Layout - "Last Goodbye"

I used to only scrapbook the fun things... the events, happy holidays, and the other joyous occasions of life, but something about that seemed a little empty and unrealistic to me. Lately, I have forced myself to scrapbook some of the sad times. It's worth remembering the times that we feel totally raw and undone, not sure of what tomorrow holds for us, or how long the hurt will cloud our hearts.

 My Dad died two years ago in August. We had a memorial service, but my Mom was not sure what she wanted to do with his ashes. After some research, we decided to have the internment service at the Great Lakes National Cemetary in Holly MI.

 It was a very chilly day, but we huddled up together and sat through the short military service where we honored my Dad for the last time. It meant a lot to all of us to watch them meticulously fold the flag in my Dad's honor, and then kneel down and give it to my Mom.

We've been missing him for longer than the two years he's been gone. He was diagnosed with Alzhiemers ten years prior, and we watched him slowly slip away from us. The last few years, he didn't know our names, but I could still see a small twinkle in his eyes when we came in the room right up until the last six months or so.

Thankfully we have so many great memories to hang on to! Most importantly, I know that he is whole again, and that I'll see him one day when I arrive at my heavenly home. 

Do you scrap your sad memories? I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for stopping by my blog today.