The Journey OUAS

For the Pay it Forward Contest please follow this link:

http://mybeaner.blogspot.ca/2013/09/pay-it-forward-contest.html

 

This is my submission for this month's sketch challenge at OUAS.

This is the first of what I hope will be many posts about an amazing family. I decided to do this layout first because this event had just transpired and I am totally in awe of the courage and dedication of this mother for her family. This is the story behind Kisses for Keaton. Meet Stephanie a wife and a mother of two beautiful children one of whom has cancer at the tender age of two. Even while watching her young daughter Kiki endure the horrors of battling her disease, even when she feels like her heart is being ripped out of her chest and she wants to rage at the injustice of it all she finds a lesson in everything.

At an event held on the 29th of September Stephanie cut off her hair in support of Kiki and what she was going through with her own hair loss. You can see the realm of emotions she is going through in the pictures. The apprehension and angst and in the next moment  pure unconditional from the bottom of your soul love. Three other women joined her and they managed to accumulate 10 inches of hair which will be donated to a charity that makes wigs for children. Even today as a direct result of this event women are still getting their long locks sheared and are donating them!

I wanted to be sure that you could read the journaling as these are Stephanie's own words and they speak volumes to her commitment to her family. I am so honored that they have allowed me in to document their journey for every time I read her posts I come away with a new sense of purpose and desire to make a difference.

The theme this month at OUAS was journey and I could think of no other journey as amazing as the one this family is on.

Just a couple of close-ups as this is more about the story than the page. I did a bit of inking and masking to add dimension on this page. The papers are from the Limited Edition Kit from MCS called Anna Marie from Prima.

Aside from the tiny roses all the flowers were included in the LE kit. All the flowers are Prima and I used a stamp from LaBlanche to make the leaves but left them black and white to focus more on the vivid colors of the blooms.

Last close-up a trinket from MME which speaks to the subject matter. A story of a remarkable family who even in the worst of times find lessons learned from their experiences and who choose to share them with the world in the hopes of making a difference. I encourage you and will continue to do so, please visit the Kisses for Keaton facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kisses-for-Keaton/148650585296073 and read the excerpts written by Stephanie as she deals with this battle everyday. Take what this family has to offer with their insights and try it on yourself then Pay it Forward.

 

It has been a horrid few weeks for me, nothing compared to Stephanie's but I have been in and out of the hospital for tests and what not and feel incredibly "bagged"! Hopefully things will turn around as I am excited about delving more into the Kisses for Keaton project as well as my own pages. Also remember that there is a Pay It Forward Contest running this month with a pretty nice price pack so go back one post and enter! All the best! :)