Fidgeting in my seat, I impatiently looked out the window for the hundredth time in the hopes that the clouds had somehow disappeared and the skyline of Chicago had taken their place.  As the rumble of the landing gear replaced the methodical hum of the jet engines, we prepared for our landing- finally!

While everyone else dutifully trudged off the plane, I bounced and hopped down the aisle.  I knew who was waiting for me on the other side and I couldn’t wait to see him!  After what felt like an eternity we finally left the airplane behind and I immediately began scanning the crowd for his face.

A full head taller than everyone around him, I could see his smiling face waiting expectantly. I could hear the gentle laughter in his voice as the crowd parted as I ran and jumped into his arms.  While being covered with kisses, I hugged him just as hard as my little arms could muster.  I was so happy to see my “Papou.”  Without a single word of complaint to the numerous and heavy bags we had brought he steered us towards the Lincoln where my Yiyia was waiting with more hugs and kisses.  We were home!

My grandfather passed away suddenly when I was only sixteen but the childhood memories I have of him are some of my favorites.  Though at first glance someone might have been intimidated by his tall and towering physique, I knew that he was all heart!  His kindness and generosity are characteristics I hope live on in me and that I can pass along to my children as well.  He was so strong too!  And the stories he shared with us about being shot down over enemy territory and being cared for by pygmies… well, they just made me love and appreciate him even more!  I like to think some of his courage and sense of humor rubbed off on me!

I suppose that is one of the most wonderful things about being home right now.  I feel grounded- centered- by the sense of time and history I sense by being with my family.

What about you?  Has someone played a huge role in who you are and the person you hope to be?  Have you told them?  You see that I scrapbooked my special memory.  Have you done the same thing?  I would love to see your photos!  If you would like, leave a comment here telling us about someone special in your life or if you blog about it leave us the link so we can come see!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Perhaps some of you in the States enjoyed some Super Bowl fun?  We spent the weekend shopping and crafting just as I had hoped!

I am super excited to share my mood board with you all today.  As you might imagine, these last few weeks have been full of change as we transition from Morocco to the US to Denmark.  But it has not just been us that is feeling the change, but our blogs as well.  I was thrilled to join Holly’s Blogging Your Way course and have already found it to be tremendously helpful and insightful.  Oh, and did I mention that another of my blogging hero’s, Leslie, is co-teaching the class?  I have to tell you all that it just doesn’t get much better than this!

As part of our class homework, I made these pages as mood boards.  I really wanted to express what our little cozy place, Traveling Mama, is really all about.  We most certainly talk a great deal about family, paper, and travel, right?

Each of the elements has significance to how I would define Traveling Mama…  such as a style that includes a mix of cottage and modern design.  I also have more tutorials planned for the coming days as we continue to explore the art of creating with paper.

And if you happen to be looking for more decor ideas, stay tuned!  In the coming weeks we will begin to document more of our journey in creating a home overseas over at Traveling Tribe.

Okay, so now it is your turn.  What do you see in the photos that you like?  Tell me how they represent what you have seen here at Traveling Mama or perhaps what you hope to see!  For those of you with a blog do you like this type of exercise?  How would you define your own blog if you were to create a mood board for it?

I thought it would be nice to get our week started off with a little trip to Copenhagen.  We are traveling vicariously with my Traveling Man who landed there just a few days ago.

Apparently we should pack our warmest coats and boots because, as you can see, it is a winter wonderland!  But do not worry too much about the cold because Traveling Man has set my heart at ease as he described the warm tea lights out in front of every restaurant.  And I am convinced that the children ice skating in the center of the city will be quite heart warming as well.

There are wonderful pastry shops waiting with coffee and other warm delicious goodies to warm the soul as well… just in case you do not want to linger too long outside.

If I were there with my Traveling Man we would stroll around the city, taking photos of everyone bundled up in their fur lined boots and down jackets.  After a while we would slip into a lovely pastry shop and warm ourselves with sweet Danishes (though they are not called that there!) and coffee.  We would hold hands while we watched others hurry by in the cold and we would whisper to one another in hushed tones.  Smiling at him, I would wonder if the cold cheeks I arrived with would hide the blush rising into them now as we dream about the new life we were to make in this wonderful place…

soon.  Very soon, indeed.

Though we may not be standing under the Eiffel Tower eating ridiculously overpriced crepes (which would be worth every single penny!) but we are looking forward to spending the morning out shopping together before my Traveling Man jet sets off to Copenhagen for a business trip.

I have issued strict orders that he must come home with lots of photos and a couple boxes of those amazing chocolate covered marshmallow fluffy things we ate on our last trip.  It’s going to be so hard to be without him for a whole week, but it will just make his return even sweeter!

What do you have planned for the day?  Anything fun and exciting for this Thursday in January?

PS I love that Hailey, our eight year old took this photo!  I do not think it looks like a child took it.  What do you all think?

My “little” Nouna, who gained this name simply by the fact that she is the daughter of my “big” Nouna, happens to be a writer.  Well, the truth is that she is a writer, a producer, and a director, but to me she is simply Little Nouna.  While we were in California my Nounas, Greek for Godmothers, drove up to have dinner with us the first night.

As was likely to happen, we began talking about writing and blogging.  I shared my recent struggle with feeling a bit lost, tossed about in the great big world.  The uncertainty of what comes next has been gnawing at me for a while.  She suggested that I write about my uncertain future, comparing it to the great uncertainty that we all face in life.  Life is uncertain for all of us, but the journey is worth noting.

Such a lovely and insightful thought, don’t you think?  Only a small collection of words and yet they spoke so powerfully to my agonizing spirit.  I feel a great deal of change coming and sometimes it scares me to death.   I find myself wanting to run into my room, close the door, and eat a lot of peanut butter m&m’s.  But then when I stop to think about all the good things that might come if I simply step out and take a risk that I find myself putting down the bag of m&m’s, grabbing a bit of gumption, and heading towards the future with my head held just a little higher.

The truth is that while life may be uncertain… well, I still find it worthwhile.  It is my guess that for many of us fear is what keeps us from stepping out into the great unknown.  We fear failing.  We fear rejection.  We fear fear itself.  But if we will simply let go, realizing that failure and rejection can teach us and shape us… there is a lovely journey waiting to be enjoyed.

What about you?  Where is your life taking you?  Do you feel it is time for a change yet fear is keeping you from trying?

Photo: via Traveling Tribe

She didn’t act nervous.  In fact her excitement was so complete that she was literally jumping up and down with an enormous smile on her face.  I did not give a single hint to her that I was dreading that very moment… had been dreading it for years, actually.  We happily drove her to “real school” with her two cousins excitedly telling her (again) about the playground and the gym and the really nice nurse if she got hurt or sick.

It all seemed a bit surreal as we entered her elementary school.  I remembered school seeming so much bigger and the teachers being so much taller.  But my turn as a third grader had passed and today it was all about her and her first day of school in America.

Her teacher greeted us with a happy smile and a friendly shake of the hand.  After a few minutes of relaying all the necessary information, it must have become apparent to Ms. R. that it was going to take a little push to get me out the door.  She assured me that she would take good care of my little tribesman and even though I wanted her to be wrong I knew she was right.

My little girl was growing up and she was no longer scared to enjoy an entire day without me… in fact, I am certain that she was quite happy about it.  I quickly scribbled my name and phone number just in case and could not think of another ploy to stall… and then I was off.

Just me, heading home.  Call me silly, but I wanted to cry.  Tears stood, waiting to spill over, but I refused to cave in.  She was no longer a baby and she was happy.  So I decided right then and there that I was not going to make her first day of school about me.  It was not about me turning 30 or me freaking out because my littlest was already a toddler.  It was not about me finding my first gray hair a couple days ago or the fact that I have no idea what I am going to do with the rest of my life without my role as mother of little bitty babies.  No, siree.  It was her day and I was going to be happy for her!

And when she came bounding off her first bus ride home with the biggest smile on her face and a thousand and one stories to tell me about the girl who asked to be her friend and how much she loved her teacher and, and… I had to admit that we had made the right decision to send her to “real school.”

P.S. I will be back tomorrow to share more about our trip to California and announce the winner of my giveaway!

Hi everyone!  I hope you all are doing well!  We are having a blast at CHA and really enjoying our time out here in Annaheim.  My first stop at CHA was Taylored Expressions.  Taylor was the very first papercrafting blogger I ever came across so it seemed fitting that she would be our first stop!  Taylor is such a sweetheart!

I also ran in to Ashley, of A New Design and Embellish Magazine.  I promise we did not coordinate our outfits, but isn’t she adorable?!

I also met up with my dear friend, Jill, who spent some time with us in Morocco.  Really, it’s all been so exciting and fun!  Today flew by and I am sure tomorrow will too.  I’ve been buying up lots of fun products to bring home and it is so much fun choosing items for my giveaway!  Make sure you leave me a comment on yesterday’s post so you can have a chance at winning some fun goodies!

Some days I feel lost.  In spite of the fact that I have lived here most of my life, it still feels foreign.  I changed while we were away.  This change was an inevitable thing, likely to happen to anyone.  But what strikes me so deeply is that so little seems to have changed here.  Life has just gone on, ignorant of my presence or lack thereof.  I no longer fit here.  Someone else is living in my house, another someone driving my car, and no matter how much it feels like I should just drive home and pick up where I left off… I cannot.

And I no longer feel the need to fit in.  Maybe that is the best change that has happened while we were away.  I am happy being me.  That is a powerful lesson, right?  I have embraced this new person that I am becoming and cannot help but wonder how living in Europe again will shape this new “me” even more.

I suppose life is funny like that.  Just when we get comfortable in our own skin, life and time challenge us to change, to move forward, to move on.  I find it rather refreshing, though at times it can be terrifying and exhilerating all together… somewhat like a roller coaster.  We bounce along, trudging up a steep incline… knowing that terror and thrill await us on the other side.

This new me longs to reconcile the outside with the inside.  Yes, that was an me justifying shopping.  Not that I need much help in justification!  But I feel very much like myself, which is something that I have not felt in a very long time.  You have caught glimpses of my style here, but these were my “Europe” clothes… certainly not anything I could wear on the streets of Morocco!  It would have been shameful to wear anything fitted or short.

And so now I am shopping with Denmark in mind, which I do not mind at all!  The Danes have a wonderful sense of style- very artsy and bohemian, which is fine with me!

What about you?  What is your personal style?  Are you comfortable with that style or are you in the process of implementing change?

P.S. Did you all notice the little hand behind me?  The only thing not showing is his face, crying hysterically… because mommy was sooo far away!

Corner View: Personal Style.  For more Corner Views visit Spain Daily.

I was standing two rooms over when I heard them shouting.  Curious what had torn my two kids away from the Disney channel, I ran into the room to find them jumping up and down and pointing out the window.  “Look, Mommy!!!!  I cannot BELIEVE it!  Aaaaahhhh!” they shouted.  What on earth?!  “It’s a squirrel!  It’s the first time I’ve EVER seen a squirrel!” Parker exclaimed in truly ecstatic voice.  They stood at the window straining to see the little squirrel who had come to visit the back patio like it was a lion in the African safari.  And to them it was no less an exciting experience.  It was one of those moments I will remember forever and ever.  It was priceless.  So my kids are completely unmoved by camels, donkeys, goats and sheep but give them a squirrel and it’s like Christmas morning all over again!

Some of my friends that had lived overseas with children told me that it is quite fun to experience their home country through the eyes of their children.  I just don’t think I really understood what they meant until now.  Watching their sense of wonder and excitement over little things such as squirrels, riding in a power wheels, and even going to Waffle House is intoxicating (in a good way, of course!)

I thought my world was coming to an end when we moved from a small town in Virginia to the suburbs of Atlanta.  It was 1987 and as a seven year old I couldn’t imagine life being better “on the other side.”  It seems so silly now when I see where my kids have been.  They have seen so much, experienced so many things.  The world really is their “backyard” but they don’t think about the world in all it’s greatness.  For them it is about squirrels and Cheese It’s and making new friends no matter where they go.  Sometimes I marvel at how much we can learn from children!

What about you?  Have you traveled much?  Have you had a life altering move in your life?  How has it affected the person you are today?

Card details: Created for Cath’s Start to Finish Challenge.

A man winked at me today.  I stopped dead in my tracks and inhaled the gasp that was begging to be released.  He was opening the door for me and for every other guest that entered the store. I know in my American mind that his wink was just a friendly gesture probably more from boredom than interest and was not meant to be taken seriously.  But after living in Morocco where that sort of thing only has one meaning…. well, it surprised me.  I recovered quickly but not without pondering how much Morocco had interrupted my American norms.

I’ve been shopping like crazy too.  I nearly hyperventilated when I went to Michael’s the first time!  It was almost too much to take in!  I showed great restraint and only bought one stamp set, but I went back a few days later with some coupons in hand and bought a few more things.

It’s not just crafty items that are on my shopping list, though.  I’ve also been clothes shopping.  I feel like a new woman getting to choose whatever I want to wear and not worry if it is long enough!  So, in the next few days I will have lots and lots to share.  We are really starting to feel much more settled, though Landon keeps waking up every morning at 3:30, which is 8:30am in Morocco.  The little stinker is ready to play and will not go back to sleep. Yaaawn… I sure hope he sleeps better tonight!

I am not going to let the lack of sleep keep me from playing with all the new stamp supplies that I got for Christmas.  Oh!  And I forgot to mention one of my favorite gifts- a new Flip video camera!  I have been wanting to do more videos but our camera was so dated that it was taking us hours to make a short video.  Yes, my sweet friends, there is much to look forward to here at Traveling Mama!