Wednesday Sponsor Giveaway: Freehand Scraps, Big Picture Scrapbooking, + Paper & Co. Show

biggest leap - quitting my job at the end of this month to go back to teaching and back to grad school!! ahhhhhhhh

Thank you for offering all the giveaways! My most recent biggest 'Leap' was quiting my job back in May - a job I was at for 10 years. Scariest thing I ever did. Took me 6 months to get the courage to put in my resignation, and even then I gave them 8 weeks.

The February Kit looks so scrumptious! My most recent act of courage is going back to work after 8 years of being a full time stay at home mother. I admit that I'm a little scared. But I do feel strong, confident, and very couragious to take the leap! February 2009 is definitely the huge, positive turning point I've been looking forward to in my life.
Thanks!
Michele B.

My most recent leap would be try to change my eating habits and lose weight and get in shape. The pushing your self to do it everyday is a leap.

My most recent leap was deciding to go to Seattle by myself to meet a friend, without my husband and on an extreme budget.

My most recent "leap" has been to try and start running on the treadmill instead of walking. I've suprised myself that I can actually run for 5-20minutes without passing out!

My recent leap - getting pregnant with baby #3, who will be born when dd#2 is not yet 2 years old.
Thanks for the giveaway- I would so love to take Stacy's class!

Last November I was forced into a leap. The most difficult dark time in my nearly 50 years. My 24 year old son was driving his 20 year old girl friend and her friend home after a party, lost control of his car and crossed into on coming traffic. Both girls were killed instantly, he had many injuries but was released from the hospital 8 days later. Tomorrow we will know the grand jury’s decision on what he will be charged with.
Through this experience over the past few months I have been reminded that one of the most important things in life is to live in the moment. Perhaps today I needed to hear the idea of leaps and change and growth.
I have Stacy’s book, and would love to participate in her class for a number of reasons. I have so many years of photos that need organized, and I need a project to help me move forward. Thanks Ali for the continued inspiration and creativity that you share with all of us.

My biggest leap has been to take the time to do some deep therapy. It has been difficult to make myself take the time, but it has been well worth it.

I took a small leap and asked a new friend to lunch! We had a really nice visit :)

My most recent leap would probably be deciding to have another child. It's probably not the smartest thing financially or logistically, but we know it will be just the thing for our family.

My recent leap was tht my husband and I agreed to head up our video ministry at our church. Neither of us has ever done anything like this before. We are committed to learning all that we can. We are responsible for videoing each Sunday, editing the video and uploading it to our church's website. My husband has done most of it and I am very proud of his 'leap'. This is big for him. I enjoyed reading all the other 'leaps' out there.

Going into teaching! This was my recent leap!

Fun, fun, fun - I love giveaways! My most recent leap was a commitment to weight loss and better health. ~ totally changing my eating habits, adding 5 days a week of exercise (I'm now a total yoga devotee!) and believing in myself in a totally new way...

My recent leap of courage would be retirement. My job was eliminated. Instead of focusing on the financial side of life (or lack thereof) these days, I make a "deliberate choice" to focus on the things around me that $$ can't buy... and I thank God. Scrapbooking and being creative with the stash of wonderful papers, etc., I have collected over the months is one of the things I find most helpful. I can get 'lost' in the memories while being creative. This is one of the sites I check for daily inspiration.

I'm learning to live in three month blocks and enjoy each and every moment with my family, not worrying about if DD's cancer will come back. Not jumping to conclusions each time she complains about pain or soreness that but that she's a normal 5 year old girl again!
Thanks for the give away and daily inspiration!

My most recent "leap" was taking over our home finances. It has been a huge recovery for our family and for me personally. I sleep better, eat better, and I have also started exercising, which is another huge "leap" for me. I am much happier now.

My most recent leap was starting to teach stamping classes at a local craft shop. I love to teach, and see the lightbulb go off when my students "get it." I hope this little leap is just a step in the direction that I want to take myself.

My most recent leap is changing churches. Although I do not enjoy the transition-I like my comfort zone-I know the Lord is moving us for a reason and I am trying to focus on that :)

My biggest leap.....well have you ever been in a car with a teenage boy learning to drive!!! Totally a leap of faith that you are all going to make it back home in one piece :) Lol!!

First of all, thank you for sharing the insight today. I did need that! I would say that my leap was a forced leap into caring for my mother-in-law. However, I have found that through this process I am growing as a person.
Thanks for the chance to win.

My biggest leap recently has been leaving my job teaching to stay home with my newborn twins. In this economy, going down to one income voluntarily is a HUGE leap of faith. But, I'll never get these years back with my kids and I have faith that I'm doing the right thing!

My leap is letting my oldest child babysit his brother & sister. This is a huge transition for me to go from being the one in charge, to letting someone else, someone whose life has been in my hands for so long, to take the reins. It is a test of how well or how poorly I have been doing my job. I know in this chosen career path that every day can seem like a test...of our creativity, of our patience, of so many personal qualities...but this transition and leap are a test of the sum of all the parts of each success & failure along the way. I cannot express how proud I am of him and of me. We were both a worried & scared at first but he has impressed me and himself with his poise & grace in this first of many transitions in the coming years.

I make a lot of leaps for the sake of my kids. My latest?
I can't stand amusement park rides that go fast or in circles - they make me dizzy. But to celebrate my son's birthday, we went snow tubing and I was not about to sit on the sidelines and not enjoy it with him. So I threw caution to the wind and went along. I had a blast, even though I still got a little dizzy from time to time. :)

My daughter will be in Italy at that very time on a school trip, so as much as I'd love to be there as well, she's using up our European travel budget this year! Either of the other two would be wonderful, though. My biggest leap was moving our family to Paris for two years for a "life experience". We're (sadly) back home again and contemplating our next big leap.