Celebrating Memories Of Week In The Life™ | Autumn Nguyen

Today I'm sharing  #WITLmemories from Autumn Nguyen. Autumn took my Week In The Life™ workshop eight years ago when it was offered at a CKU event and I still remember her smile, her kindness and her enthusiasm. She is joy personified. When we first talked about inviting people to share their memories from this project she was one of the first people I thought of - thank you Autumn for sharing pieces of your story her. 

#WITLmemories is all about sharing the Week In The Life™ love. It's about re-visitng our past projects (to reflect and learn and get inspired), sharing ways of telling the story of our daily lives, and creating a community of people around this popular project to support and encourage one another. 

You're invited to share your own personal favorite #WITLmemories via Instagram, Facebook or your blog. What do you love about the project? What do your past albums mean to you now? Feel free to share a link to your blog post in the comments below. 

Here's a look at Autumn's past projects:

MONDAY

Story from intro page on Monday, July 25, 2011

Here we are -- documenting a full week of our life with you, our adorable early riser and raspberry blowing love bug. You are almost six months old and I am finally feeling like I’m coming out of the new-mom-fog. I finally feel like we have a routine down (which took a long while) and I am slowly gaining confidence as a mother. I question my actions daily and constantly wonder if I’m doing things right. To be honest, I battle the “what ifs” on a daily/hourly basis. Is there really a right way to be a mom? You are reserved, observant, and extremely curious about the world around you. You do not give out smiles freely -- it takes work and patience because you take your time to study people and things -- including my camera. Photos of you smiling are rare -- so I leap for joy each time I freeze one.

TUESDAY

Story from Tuesday, July 26, 2011

We visited Ba this morning while daddy worked at the pawn shop. She is currently living in daddy’s house, across from the elementary school I went to when I was a kid. We found the first quilt I made many years ago and opened it up for you to lay on. Ba has a difficult time getting on the floor but I found her there often, singing songs to you in Vietnamese or making silly noises to get you to crack a smile. She adores you so much -- her heart bursts with joy and her face hurts from smiling so much. Her laugh is loud and you can hear it throughout the house. She feels frustration when she speaks in English to you -- saying that you cannot understand her. I encourage her to speak Vietnamese because I sure hope you pick up some of it from her. 

WEDNESDAY

Story from Wednesday, May 7, 2007

Gratitude: 

• Student volunteers who manned the science stations at Open House
• Last BTSA commitment.
• Teacher appreciation week.

Background: Today, we go back 8 years. This layout is from the Week in The Life™ class I took from the genius herself, Ali Edwards, at Creating Keepsakes. She had us document the week beforehand and bring all of the photos, words, and ephemera to class. We completed the project in several class sessions and I immediately fell in love with the project and have been ever since. Each day of the week started out with a self-portrait -- something I might incorporate into this year’s book. I am a teacher and was in a relationship then so most of this book is about me and my work. Now that I have a child, I tend to focus more on him, but after reviewing this album, I am reminded that I need to incorporate more of my story into this year’s book.

THURSDAY

Story from Thursday, July 28, 2011

I want to remember all the details of our time together. I want to remember how hard you’re working to catch the animals on your mobil. I want to remember that you kick your legs when you’re excited. I want to remember how we play the game of “tug-o-war” with your sippy cup and how upset you get when I pull it toward me. I want to remember how much you love your doorway jumper. I want to remember your chunky legs and how strong they are. I want to remember that Daddy and I always watched you jump and that we cheered and laughed with each big jump and spin. I want to remember your focus during stories. I want to remember how much we enjoy life with you at this age.

Today’s journaling was focused on things I want to remember about my boy.

FRIDAY

Story from April 23, 2010

Clothing | I love long dresses. Love them. This black dress with zebra print belt became an instant favorite. I receive a ton of compliments each time I wear it.

Comments | This photo was taken a month before I became pregnant with my now four-year-old. Documenting a Week in the Life has afforded me the opportunity to look back and reflect on how I’ve evolved. My life looks different now than it did in 2010 and 2007, but without these precious albums, the details would have been forgotten.

For more information about Week In The Life™ check out my projects page and pre-order your kit that makes it easy to focus on capturing and celebrating your words and photos with a fun, story-focused intentional embellishments. Week In The Life™ 2015 will happen in mid-late August. If you want to dive even deeper you can also check out my archive of past Week In The Life™ blog posts.