Father's Day / Softball 2018

Amy Cunniff-Bleau
Jun 20, 2022
3 min read

Father's Day is a holiday that always gives me lots of good photos! I love watching the kids get excited to give Jim their gifts and explain why they picked that particular item. I love watching Jim's reaction to each gift. I have to admit, one strength of my husband is that he is genuinely grateful for the kids' thoughtful gifts. He will wear the Big Foot and "Yoda the Best Dad Ever" T-shirts, hang the pennants, and use all the grilling accessories. And he will most certainly explode the fireworks given to him!

Jim told me he always wanted to be a dad. By the time we met, we both had two children and some baggage from life. He was willing to take on the role of stepdad. Any man who will step up to become a stepdad is an amazing man. Being a stepparent is not for the "faint of heart." There are trials and it is hard work to blend a family. You each bring to the table your own values, traditions and expectations and have to mesh them into one. It didn't help our situation that we only had the girls every other week, and the boys were going through the stages of grief. There were tough times for Jim. But he persevered and I am so happy to say that the three of them love each other - our whole family loves and cares for each other. We have made some great memories as a "Family of Six."

I love to scrapbook the memories we have made as a blended family. I see so clearly God's mercy and blessings on our family reflected in the smiles and love showing in the photos.

Scrapbooking Tips:

I used a Scrapbook Generation sketch from their It's Hip to be Square sketch book. I love this collection of sketches because it uses all 4x4" square photos. This is a fantastic way to include more pictures on any given layout.

I also really love using 4x4" photos because I do not have good luck with printing photos. I have tried multiple photo printing services, and unless I go in and edit every single photo in my order, they will print just shy of 6 inches. That will really mess me up when I'm doing a layout when I'm trying to fill a page with 4x6" photos. That leaves up to 1/4" of awkward space that is sometimes hard to work into a page design.

Another aspect of this sketch that appealed to me was the fact I got to use a full sheet of 12x12 paper! I had firework paper that I knew I had to use on a layout of Jim - given his love of fireworks. This was the perfect opportunity. Using full sheets of paper help me use my bountiful stash of supplies and saves me time. It's a win-win!

I loved this sketch so much I used it for a softball layout of Alyssia! I found this awesome softball paper from Scrapbook Customs and you really had to use it as a 12x12" sheet of paper. This design enabled me to use it and include multiple pictures of Alyssia.