Porter and I had an opportunity to have a little one-on-one date over the weekend. When looking at our movie options, it was down to 2 choices: Gnomeo & Juliet (neither one of us was really interested) or Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.
Justin who?
Okay, I’m kidding. I mean, I’ve heard of Justin Bieber. But that’s about it. A) There are no pre-teens in our home and B) I am so not up on current music lately. I hardly listen to the radio or watch tv in this phase of my life. It is what it is.
So … we saw Justin Bieber.
And guess what? Within the first two minutes, I was pretty happy about those 3D glasses on my face because my eyes welled up with tears. I kid you not. And that was the first of several times that my emotions got the best of me.
What the heck? What is this about, right? (No. I’m not pregnant.)
It wasn’t about Justin’s music, although no one can deny the 16-year-old is crazy talented. It wasn’t about about how cute he is, although for sure he is adorable. And this is certainly not about movie reviews because I am so not a movie critic.
I’ll tell you what it was about for me. This kid is in the middle of an incredible journey of ups & downs like the rest of us (just on a much more public level) … and the way they connected his past with where he is today, was remarkable. His mother & grandparents not only dedicated their best efforts in raising him but they recognized his natural talents and interests and they cultivated that growth.
It was about appreciating the fact that they had home video along the way, even back to when he was 2 and 3 years old, hitting wooden spoons to a kitchen chair and there was actual rhythm. They were documenting life. They were able to tell a great story in this movie because they put all those little pieces (pictures + home video) together.
It was about generosity. The way his manager & team went out amongst the people and passed out concert tickets to unsuspecting fans. The way he connected with his little girl fans. (Although if Claire ever acts like these screeching, squealing girls … over ANY pop star … EVER … oh, we will be having a serious talk.)
It was about entrepreneurship. It was about believing in yourself and knowing that anyone — ANYone — can take that little seed of a dream and foster growth if you put forth the effort and are willing to face bumps in the road.
In the end, I think my connection with this movie was my already-firm belief that everyone should cultivate a good life and record it. That does not have to have anything to do with becoming “rich & famous”. It’s about each of us taking what we believe is a good life — it’s different for everyone — and going for it.
And … along the way, make the effort to document and record the journey. The good, the bad, the ugly. Because when we do this, we are honoring our past, our progression, and our passion.
…..
I created Project Life because I wanted to simplify the process of keeping memories so that more and more people will enjoy the satisfaction of doing something with their pictures and documenting their stories. I deeply care about helping people bring all their “pieces” together to tell their story.
So this week, thanks to the added inspiration I found in a teen-bopper movie on a date with my 8-year-old … I am giving away a Project Life kit every day this week! In the comments, please share what “cultivating a good life” means to you personally, in a sentence or two. Or share one of your dreams or passions or something you’re working toward right now. Or nominate a friend. And mention where you live.
Tags: dreams, entrepreneurship, generosity, goals, Project Life
One of my dreams was always to help people get through their tough times. I decided last year to continue my education, and am now working toward a Master’s Degree that will help this dream come to reality. I’m so excited about this stage in my life!
Ashley
Florence, KY
I always wanted to be a wife & mom. Period. So here I am, & I want to give them the best of me so they can get to where God wants them to be.
I am nominating my friend Kathi who just adopted a little girl from Russia and isn’t yet a scrapbooker/recorder of life stories. This would be ideal for her!!! Thank you for the chance to win.
Right now, cultivating a good life is cultivating a NORMAL life for my toddler son who almost lost his life on Christmas night. He is finally out of the hospital and has a long row to hoe, but he is on his way back to being himself. I have been documenting his entire journey (journaling, photos) in preparation for making him a book about his fight to live, WHICH HE WON. I’m so proud of him that I can hardly stand it.
Thanks again Becky for this awesome blog!
I think so many of us want to cultivate a good life. That’s it! It just seems that so many things and people want to break us down. It just breaks my heart when it happens to my children. They learn at such a young age just how cruel life can be. I think documenting and capturing their lives in videos and pictures and by writing gives them a sense of accomplishment – it shows them just how far they have come and just how truly awesome and unique each of us are! My job as a mom is to build my kids up after the world has broke them down!
Thanks again Becky for being an uplifting place to come!!
To me, cultivating a good life means raising my three daughters to be good people and responsible. It means loving my husband, extended family, and friends with a passion. It also means finding my own purpose in this life. For me, at this point, it means working on my quilt pattern designs, blog, and podast. Of course all of this needs to be documented for future generations so they will see what a good life is and how they may attain the same in their lifetimes.
Cultivating a good life means appreciating the little moments – loving the time we have and making the most of it.
One of my dreams has been to own a Children’s bookstore. I love to read and love to read to my children. Maybe one day…….
To me, “cultivating a good life” is striving for balance and focusing on what is truly good. I work in a high-stress, cancer research environment, and I am learning go home at 5 (not later) and take that time to be with my husband as much as possible so that we can lead full and fulfilling lives with each other.
A new passion of mine is peace (relaxing, breathing, whatever!). If we have peace and love, we pass that to others, and I think everyone can use a little more peace and a little more love.
To me right now cultivating a good life means putting all my best effort into my school work, continuing to work hard towards my degree. It means seeking out joy even though life stinks right now. Cultivating a good life means finding reasons to smile and basking in the sunshine. It means living in the moment and not fearing the future.
I’ve always wanted to be a Mom and I know that being one I’m doing what God wants me to do with my life.
For me, cultivating a good life means that many years from now I want to be able to look back and have absolutely no regrets. I want to know that I treated each person in my life with respect and the people I don’t know that I come across in daily life.
I have the dream of growing my photography business so I can not only follow my passion, but provide for my family and leave my job in the corporate world.
This year I have been very focused on the idea of being CONTENT. I think that is what cultivating a good life means to me. Like many people, I am always thinking about the future and worrying or planning what comes next. But I sometimes think that makes me not fully here to enjoy the present. I am working on being CONTENT with my life as it is right now. Maybe focusing on documenting my present everyday life will help me better reflect on the many blessings I have right now, and not the things I hope to have in 5-10 years!
Getting down on my children’s eye level and looking into their eyes to listen to what they have to say, no matter what it’s about. Everyday.
To me “cultivating a good life” mean going to bed each night as a single mom knowing I have done the best for my sons. one of my goals was to take a photo class but since I am a single mom I don’t have the time but I made the time this summer I will be taking the class. For me Project Life has reminded me to stop and be in the today for my sons and to enjoy the day to day.
I try cultivating a good life by trying to be the best that I can in all areas of my life. Sometimes I do better than others but I hope those around me recognize I’m trying. I work outside the home, and I’d rather stay home with my daughter, but this is the stage we’re in now. Maybe one day I’ll be able to be home with her (and our little boy on the way), and try even harder at cultivating the life I want for us.
To me, cultivating a good life *at this stage of my life as an empty nester* means to continue to enjoy every moment, and to live intentionally. Being appreciative, and grateful for our blessings.
Cultivating a good life means bringing my kids up the right way (or what we think is the right way). Teaching them what they need to know to thrive, giving them what they need not what they want and bringing them up in the way of the Lord
I see so many examples of cultivating a good life all around me. I’m blessed to be surrounded by good people, good parents, good friends, good citizens. I’m glad that my children have so many positive role models.
If I was fortunate enough to win, I would pass along the PL kit to our French exchange student. While he only traveled here with the camera on his cell phone, I’ve been encouraging to carry my point and shot on their day trips to capture more moments, more memories. I love the photos he’s taken — he has a great eye and an interesting perspective. He needs to take more pictures — all the time!!
For me ” Cultivating a good life ” means taking care of me.. the kids are grown and I need to work on my health and making me the best I can be.
My sweet baby boy is 7 weeks old. We waited for such a long time to have him join our family, and for me, “cultivating a good life” means so much. It means helping him create, dream, and learn. It means enjoying every second of this little man because life is precious and it happens too fast.
To me, cultivating a good life means living life to it’s fullest. Sure there are ups and downs, but doing all I can to make the best of every day we have for my family and I is what it means to me. Have goals in mind, but being present in the moment, and loving the life we have.
I’ve come to realize that capturing my families memories isn’t always about the “big” moments. It’s the little things, always hiding right in front of me, that mean the most. Project Life has made it possible for me to see that I’ve already “cultivated my good life” … in the big and little moments… the good and bad moments… with the people that mean the most to me.
Being recently divorced with two little boys, cultivating a good life is creating our new dreams and lifestyles. I am a little over 1/2 way thru nursing school and I have put a huge amount of energy into keeping that dream alive because it means a mommy who is home more for them…a mommy who can be more involved in their lives when they start school or want to have friends over. Being a single mom, it certainly isn’t easy but in order to cultivate our dreams, we must push forward to that dream of what lies ahead and what life has in store for each of us.
Over the years, I have learned to slow down and appreciate the present moment, since my older just turned 13, i feel like I am on the downslope of parenting little ones and moving into the tough stuff. Also, I want to mention how my 3 boys flipped though all of our scrapbooks this weekend and we had such fun laughing at pictures and stories! Makes it ALL worth it.
The good life to me is putting my beliefs and my family first. Not letting the busyness of life get the best of us.
Making time to cuddle up and read together every day!
Tonight dinner was an hour late because we were playing zombies… i dressed up, make up and all and chased the boys around the house til we all ended up in bed giggling ourselves silly. I love that. Not that they will remeber a mom who pedantically cleaned the house, but a mom who got down with them and played. I hope thats what they remember. The laughing and the fun times.
When I look at my children, now 27 and 24, I realise that I have created a good life for both of them. I did most of it on my own as my Hubby was a workaholic and travelled a lot. I was also working. Don’t ask me how I did it but I did. Scrapbooking wasn’t around in SA when they were born and I am trying now to document the photos that I do have of them… My son graduated with a BCom Accounting and my daughter is a high school teacher and they live next door to each other and are extremely close and I am blessed to have them in my life.
Cultivating a good life for me is being thankful in every moment (at least trying) and striving to see the beauty and God’s blessings in every little thing.
To me, cultivating a good life is for my kids to look back over the years, see the ups and downs and know they were loved the whole way through.
“Cultivating a Good Life” to me has been appreciating the present in my life and striving to find ways to make tomorrow that much more sweeter. One of the quotes I love to use as a reminder is “God”s gift to us is more gifts and talents than we can use in a lifetime. Our gift to God is to use as many of these gifts and talents as we can in this lifetime.”
Cultivating a good life for me means that I am working toward what God wants me to be. For the past several years, I have been trying to cultivate positive relationships in my life, spend time with positive influences and balance life-work-family without neglecting my spiritual life. Too much time spent in any one area means that I don’t have time for God and I don’t feel good about myself. I am so NOT there yet, but I am working on it. Kids grow too fast and life passes too quickly to not be all in!
I was in a head on collision on 1/31/10. It is a miracle I survived. Cultivating a good life is showing God every day that I am so grateful to still be here.
I make sure to let my kids know that they can be anything they want to be but you have to work hard to get where you want to be in life. Everything won’t be handed to you, so you have to get an education and make smart choices. All the little things add up to big things in life.
Thanks for a chance to win.
cultivating a good life for me means following God’s call, His plan for me. we are in the process of adopting, adding a little ethiopian girl to our brood of 4 bio children, in this search for her i am finding i am capable of accomplishing much more than i thought possible
Cherishing each day with my husband and two children and not take one day for granted.
I want to nominate my friend Rosanna. For her second daughter, she’d like to do Project Life so she can stay “caught up” w/less stress, unlike what’s happening w/first daughter’s scrapbook!
Thanks!
For me, its seeing my kids smile! It tells me that I have done my job. They make my life happy, interesting, difficult at times and always FULL of love….
“Cultivating a good life” for me means taking the time to make the most out of every day. Play with my kids, date my husband, enjoy life. I hope to turn those moments into great memories for my children & family that we can look back on and know we had a “good life”.
Right now I am trying to cultivate a good life for my son. I am looking for what interests him and trying to encourage him. Eventually I would like to get back to teaching and encourage lots of kiddos!
Cultivating a good life here with my family means living every day. Not living in the past or living for a vacation or weekend or whatever else. It is a good life, indeed!
Cultivating a good life to me means doing right by my kids and trying to raise them in the best way possible in an extremely difficult world. Also trying to be the best person I can be in all facets of life so that when they look back they have a good example to follow.
BTW the movie made me cry too…he is one amazing kid with and amazing family by his side..
I have just turned 51, laid off permanently, diagnosed with a chronic blood disease and yet I can’t help but feel and look at this as the next chapter in a great life. I’m not sure what’s around the bend but I have some freedom to explore doing what I love, paper craft, quilting, scrapbooking, etc . . . instead of fighting the daily grind and losing because my idea of being a manager means treating people with respect, empowering them instead of micro managing their every move and motivating them by up lifting them instead of demeaning them. My goal is to combine my love of creating with helping people become the best they can be. Not sure how this is going to happen yet but am praying and thinking about it daily, just taking steps each day to move forward.
Putting my family first is cultivating a good life to me. Making memories with them and for them!
I am working on finding the good and balance everyday and documentating it so I can see my own progress.
I fell in love with scrapbooking because it helps to document “life” – helps us to see where we came from, what interests us, to remember where we have been, to dream about where we want to go and what we want to be. Cultivating a good life is all about focusing on the family we have (both the biological family and the family we have through our activites and life), the opportunities we have, and the one who created us.
Lisa, Lawrenceville, GA
Cultivating a good life for me is about seeing our values, mine and my husbands, reflected in our children. As we lead by example we try to teach our children to respect and celebrate individual differences, appreciate and be grateful for what they have and to take time to enjoy the little things in life.
Focusing on the good of the whole: the people as a whole, the earth as a whole, my person as a whole.
In order for me to cultivate a good life, I must put down all the baggage of my past and live with my husband and children in my present…and it is truly a gift! It means to do the best I can as a parent for my kids so they don’t have to worry about carrying their own baggage one day. It means that the best I can do…is EXACTLY that…the best I can do…for me, for my family, for my life…and don’t second guess myself (too much) along the way.
Thank you for the oppotrunity…and thank you for the inspiration!
Cultivating a good life means being present in my current life. Learning to pause and BE. I am a “gotta get this done – list making girl” and I so truly want to just BE. Give my kids and family me, my time, my thoughts, play, listen. Little by little I’m getting there!
I have to say that I have thought about this a lot lately. I recently had my second child and I have been really behind on many things just trying to care for my family right now. Sometimes I get too focused on making sure my house is clean and I forget what really matters….and that is my family. I want them to have a good life and I want to be an example to them of a good life! So, I know that in order for them to remember this time in their life, I need to record the memories for them so that they can look back and see what they did and how great their life is! I think that is what “cultivating a good life” means to me right now. In a sense, I am the “cultivator” for my family. And I need to work on being a good one for my family and for myself too! I am pretty sure that always having a clean house isn’t going to matter to my children, it is the memories that will and I don’t want the only memory they have of me is cleaning!
I’m sure that, as scrapbookers, we all are finding the same things are important in cultivating a good life…creating and enjoying the small moments in the everyday. I am doing this every day with my new son, who is now 10 months old. I take so many pictures every day, and am trying to document all of his little idiosyncrasies (sp?) as he goes from one phase to another. It took over 5 years and much medical intervention to have him, and it was all so worth it, and I still marvel that he is with us and that I am actually a mom!
Project Life is a wonderful project, and I wanted to say thank you for offering a chance to win one! I have followed your work since the sketches books, and you are continually inspiring me to document and capture our regular life. Thank you so much!
I’m 42 years old and I’m still trying to figure this out
. It changes. Right now I’m listening to John Piper’s “Don’t Waste Your Life.” He’s got a lot of good truth in there. For me, contentment is a big part of it. Enjoy today and let tomorrow take care of itself!
Right now I am working toward documenting my life with words…just a few sentences every day, so that I can remember what life was like. Trying to figure out what to include. How much of the good…how much of the bad…how much of the mundane. I just don’t want to forget all of this.
Our goal is to cultivate a good life for our daughter. She was adopted from Russia in 2006 and we are working to provide her the best life that we can. We have many ups & downs, but I working very hard to keep all those documented and we often enjoy sitting down to look at all those memories.
Cultivating the good life is tough for me to put in words. Listening to my boys play with their Legos, having fresh coffee in the morning when I get up because my husband got it ready for me, the neighbor snowblowing our driveway because my husband is at work, participating in a couples group at church, sharing a cup of tea with a friend and chatting because life has thrown a few curve balls at her. There are many every day things that I am grateful for and are making my life a good one. We may not have a million dollars, but we have and continue to make a million memories.
For me, cultivating a good life means creating a happy stable home for my family
Okay, Justin B! I would not have expected the story you wrote, since I have no young girls in my life, I have been able to avoid all the hype about him. Sorry now I wasn’t more aware of his life story. Thanks for bringing it to light. I do remember my teen-aged daughter, and two friends, in Season 2 of American Idol, and Clay Aiken. Went as far as attending the Idol Tour. The next day, I was the one with the hoarse voice, not the girls. I was experiencing life through teen eyes and ears again, and thoroughly enjoying the moments of one of the best times of their lives! Although we were not able to take photos inside, I have all the memories embedded in my head and I will journal about them for a project I need to do with no photos. I need to really remember those carefree times and live life more to it’s fullest and get the stories down. I am awaiting my Turquoise PL any day now and so excited to start my POTD tomorrow! I attempted this last year, from January through August with only clouds and got semi discouraged with it. Taking photos of anything and everything each day brings a whole new life to me! I will still do awesome sunsets, but I will be more focused on everyday life events, which all too often go unnoticed by so many families! Thanks for the push to start my new ‘year’ off tomorrow! Loving this {Project}Life!
It’s about my “one little word”…. NOW. Every day matters. Live and be in the moment. My mom passed away in December. We moved closer to be near family and those few months that we lived near mom before her death taught me to honor each and every day… you never know what tomorrow holds.
I believe that today’s good life will be different from tomorrow’s good life that why I scrapbook to remember all the bits of the good and the bits of the bad. My life is like a squirrels life right now.. I’m putting in a lot of time working which includes travel away from the kids. My intention is to stock up on all the nuts that I can now that my earning power is strong and to retire in 3 years. We have a good life now and we’re thankful for all the great memories but with retirement, I think I can focus more on the kids and cultivate an even better life for us then.
Linda
I’m homeschooling my children so that is a very, very big part of cultivating a good life for us. I just want so much for them. I was just reviewing the measly two months of our Project Life album that are complete so far. It amazes me the amount of details that it has captured that would otherwise be swept away from our memory. I really, really wish I’d done this since they were babies. The funny things they say, the new discoveries they make, the ittty bitty milestones that sometimes go unnoticed. What a treasure! The details of these three little lives are what a good life is all about to me. My precious husband and I will remember this goodness forever.
I would like to nominate my friend Lisa. She is the most amazing woman. She is one of my homeschool mentors. She has 7 children of her own and she homeschools them all with such grace. She attempts to catalog their days and their growth through “traditional” scrapbooking methods but being the busy mom she is, she is way behind. I spent time with her over the weekend and she was sharing with me how she has forgotten so much that she wanted to remember. I shared with her about Project Life and how awesome it is to have one spot to collect all the daily goodness of this amazing life I’m blessed with. I think it would be such a good fit for her and I’d LOVE to see her receive this blessing into her life. Did I mention that she adopted 3 of those seven children? She has such a heart for things bigger than herself. If anyone deserves a random blessing in her life, it’s her.
For me, cultivating a GOOD LIFE means to seek God’s purpose for my life and that of our family, and try our best to live out that mandate each and every day. Project Life helps us to recognize and appreciate the everyday blessings in our busy life and record them!
Tina, Dundas, Ontario
Cultivating a good life and recording it has brought on such a different and important meaning to me over the last year. Feb of 2010 my best friend of 20 yrs was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and that news changed me forever. Six months later in July of 2010 she passed away. It was in preparing for her funeral that I realized how thankful I was that she recorded EVERYHTING! She had pictures,videos and even voice recordings all the way back from her childhood. You see she was such a special person. So caring and fiercely dedicated to her family. She left behind a devoted husband and 2 precious children who through her love of recording life’s biggest moments and life’s everyday moments will be able to hold onto her memory forever. It made me realize how so very important it is for so many different reasons to cherish life and the moments we get to share with the people in to and to record those moments. We never know what the future may hold and how our legacy may inspire.
I am trying to cultivate a good life but persuing my goals. My boyfriend and I are saving for our own place and to do that we are downizing our current apartment with a new one. Things might be rough at first to adjust but the end will be good for us. def a good life!
To me – cultivating a good life is all about time spent together. Yes, I work hard to keep a nice home. But in the end — that is not what matters most. For instance, this morning, my home is a wreck from a busy weekend of not cleaning up after ourselves. But – on Saturday, we had a family adventure, and spent time together. Not going any place important. Not spending a lot of $$$$. Spending TIME – a precious jewel to me!
Right now, I’ve been really thinking about what my family life should look like. We’ve been so immersed in busyness- with a teenager and a preteen with so many interests, our life has devolved into a mess of getting to places and cleaning up afterward. I think that for us to cultivate a good life will be to have a purpose for everything and eliminate those areas that don’t bring us joy.
Wow. Ok, I’lll share a dream of mine.
I’m in college right now working towards a degree in History and I eventually want to get my teaching degree and my dream to teach high school history. It’s a lot of hard work and I’m paying for everything myself so life is super busy right now! But every time I start wondering why I’m putting myself through all the stress and worry, I remember where I want to be in a couple of years and even though it means I have to give up some things I love, I keep plugging away…
I can’t wait until graduation!
Cultivating a good life for me is about identifying and changing aspects of my personality and old behaviours which have helped me survive but are no longer necessary so that I can live today joyfully with my beautiful family. I dream of healing the hurt – and everyone hurts. To this end I hope to begin a business in the complementary therapies helping people let go of outdated protective behaviours in order to rediscover their wholeness.
Cultivating a good life.
I’ve had a big ah ha moment about baby steps recently. For me, cultivating a good life means taking baby steps to get to your goals. Three years ago I decided I wanted to go back to school and get my masters degree. The thought overwhelmed me and I almost didn’t do it. Now, here I sit with only two more classes to go. I’m so thankful I stepped out of the boat! I focused on just one class at a time which seemed much more manageable to think about. Dream big and take baby steps to get to those dreams – that’s what cultivating a good life means to me.
Cultivating a good life right now for me is all about religion. I have been religious in the past, yet, the last couple of years I have put it on the back burner. So, the last couple of weeks I have been trying to incorporate it into my every day life.
I would like to nominate my sister Caity.
She was supposed to be married on Saturday 2/26/11, but tragically before Christmas he was killed by a drunk driver. My “brother-in-law” always had a smile on his face and was the most generous, loving and forgiving person I know. His philosophy on life was–no regrets. He cultivated a good life
It would be a way of her being able to honor their life together that was cut short. I would love for her to get the Project Life so that she could make an album of the years of their courtship. It is easy enough that she work through it easier than a traditional scrapbook.
This didn’t print out–He cultivated a good life by finding the goodness in EVERYONE–even if sometimes you really you had to look hard and deep.
Cultivating a Good Life, to me, that I have the responsibility to teach them how to be someone who can change the world for the better. That they are just the same as the Black-American, Asian, Middle Eastern, African, European, Christian or non-Christian person next to them and that they need to respect the differences that we have because at the end of the day, respecting the differences in others is the only way we’ll ever achieve World Peace. We have a responsibility as competent people to make this happen. (And sheer damn luck as Americans to have the voice and resources to make a change.) It might take one person every generation to make the difference, but we’ll get there. I’m sure of it.
Cultivating a good life …
enjoying the little moments with my husband and our children every day
taking the time to do things that are just for me, that make me happy
striving to be happy, to smile, to be optimistic
being kind to others
Cultivating a good life? It is hard, hard, hard to do. For me, that means raising kids who love Gos, work hard, and have fun. It’s making every moment count. It especially hit me how much I need to do this when my niece lost her mom at the age of 8. She has so few memories from the years her mom was well. I want my kids’ lives to be chock full of memories and “remember whens….”
Cultivating a good life means doing what I can the best that I can and letting go of what I cannot do.
I started back to school after 16 years. It wasn’t something I have wanted to do, but I knew I needed to do and I am loving it. I am also trying to document memories about my dad for my children. We don’t know how much longer he has with us and I want them to remember him and all the love and support he has expressed to them.
I think a big thing for me, and also my One Little Word for 2011 is balance! and with it all that it encompasses and covers. to simplify my life, to play more with my kids, to strengthen my relationships(thank you Becky) and to be who I am and love myself for it! It has been an interesting first two months of the year as I reflect on this word and on my life and what i do to find that balance that we all want to achieve in all that we do. thanks for the great chance!
As others mentioned, I’m focusing on my One Little Word this year… TRANSFORM. I’m taking Ali’s year-long class at BPC and really trying to make the word a part of my life. Transforming my body, my health, my outlook, my job, my home. I turn 40 this year and am looking forward to entering this next era with renewed vigor!
I am working towards coming out of the fog that hit me when I became a mom for the first time last year. While adjusting, I let many things slide, including my weight, the house, some relationships, even my son’s baby book, which I have not yet started (and he is 9 months old). I’ve finally gotten into a bit of a routine and am committed to do my best in all aspects of my life. I want to set a positive example for my son!!
Love your blog Becky!
We home school our four young children (a dream of mine) so I am working towards keeping an environment of nurture, creativity, and learning. Each of our kids are so unique! I aim for them to discover who they are and celebrate our differences.
For me, cultivating a good life means trying to become the person that God wants me to be and teaching that to my children. I am currently working on being that person so that when things get worse economically, I can be one of the people with a lifeboat to help those that weren’t paying attention.
Terri G.
College Station, TX
Cultivating a good life is appreciating that everyone you meet is different and to accept their differences and encourage them to be the best “them” they can be.
BTW my Project Life arrived today in Australia and I am one happy soul.
Right now I am trying to cultivate a good life by going back to school for a degree in Graphic Design. I have two small boys and am pregnant with a third little one, so life is crazy. I’ve kind of come up with a slogan that goes with what I want for a career and what I want in life, inspired by a scrapbooking sticker I saw one day and that is to “Design a life you love”. I am trying so hard to make life easier for my family, and trying to enjoy the process.
This is my third year of doing Project Life and I love it. I have four boys and I have been able to highlight each one of them in my Project Life album and what we do together as a family. I now realize how the little daily parts of our lives are so important. If I never get around to completing their individual scrapbooks, at least I have some of their childhood recorded. I love this concept because I love to take pictures and I love to journal. Thank you Becky!
Cultivating a good life is about investing in the little person God has blessed my life with – my daughter (who also happens to be 8). Crafting with her on a lazy Sunday afternoon she stopped after creating something adorable and said “just like you Mama, that’s the little part in me that’s you”…profound and quite precious, but really about cultivating the good life and passing along the most important core beliefs and practices that we hold to be truth. LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT with her. Her innocent, yet profound comment, led to quite a discussion about how we are made….wow, so special!
Right now (i.e., every day) it’s about my family. The first thing that comes to mind is my kids. Boys 6 and 3, the 6 year old LOVES JB!
So cultivating a good life now is being present for my kids, dancing, singing, playing…together! Cooking, crafting, being. They are everything and they make me a better mom, wife, person. Thanks for the opportunity Becky!
For me right now- cultivating a good life is about being true to oneself. Not trying or wanting to be something else because I am in fear of expressing myself, but rather being the happiest and healthiest versions of me.
Cultivating a good life to me means being kind and compassionate and helping as many others as possible. And it means raising my girls to be the same while pursuing what brings them joy.
Cultivating a good life….this takes on a new meaning for me now. I lost my dad 4 months ago and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about my life going forward. Thinking about the relationships that I have – the ones that are working and the ones that are a lot of work. So I think cultivating a good life for me right now will include spending time with those who mean the most to me and letting go of those superficial relationships that I can’t fix.
After a life-changing kidney transplant 11 months ago, cultivating a good life TRULY does mean living each day and even each moment to it’s fullest. Grateful to be here with my boys.
cultivating a good life to me means that my four daughters know that we will always be here for them no matter what ups & downs they may face along the way!
To me cultivating a good life means doing what we need to do and having fun and making good memories along the way.
I would love to win a project life kit for my mom. She has always been a great help and example to me, especially as I became a mother and then a grandmother. She is only 55 years old, and is a widow, a cancer survivor and a great-grandmother. She is still able to enjoy her life and I think it would be a great gift for her to be able to easily document it. Thank you for this chance.
For me, cultivating a good life has been to put myself into being a good person, a good wife, and a good mother. By working on these things, I am also working towards a better world with better people in it.
Cultivating a good life to me is being happy with what you have and happy for the successes of those around you. My husband and I have 4 children together and have added 2 more children to our family with the passing of his sister March, 3, 2010. This has been a very challenging year for our family adjusting to all the changes. Six children between the ages of 10 and 5 can be pure chaos at times. I believe more than ever that my true purpose is to raise in partnership with my husband of course children that are valiant, strong and good. We can change the world! Good can triumph and life is beautiful when we can see the big picture and the value of each individual.
I think that there’s a lot that goes into cultivating a good life. From showing our loved ones that we care, to being the best person we possibly can, to enjoying every moment, to balancing our lives between work and play. Life is work! LOL! But it’s the only one we get so you have to learn to enjoy the ride, right?
I think that cultivating a good life is about putting relationships first. It’s about supporting my husband in what he feels called to do. It’s about helping my children develop their talents and achieve their goals in life. It’s about being the mom and wife I’ve always dreamed of being. I don’t always succeed….sometimes I get hung up on the “way” I think things should be done, and I can be stubborn. Sometimes life gets crazy busy, but being a good mom, wife and friend is important to me.
To cultivate a good life I rely on prayer, my husband, my children, exercise, books, coffee, my camera, and cupcakes!
Cultivating a good life means thinking of others, caring for their good more than my own. Realizing it is not all about me.
Cultivating a good life is not taking anything for granted.
When I say “I wish it was Friday..” or “I can’t wait to go on vacation in two weeks..” my father always tells me “Don’t wish away your days.”
Make everyday a good day and make it count. In the end, it really is the little things.
-And I’m from Nashville, TN
Cultivating a good life for me right now besides doing my best everyday to care for my three boys, is pursuing my passion for photography. I am studying photography, mostly on my own, but also taking a few classes here and there. This, along wiht Project Life has given me a new vigor to take a photo every. single. day. The two, go hand in hand for me. I am having a blast! I am not only documenting my own family this year, but the city around me (I am living abroad in China due to my husband’s job) by going on a photo walk once a week while my kids are at school.
Cultivating a good life to me is about learning to slow down from the craziness of daily life and stop and enjoy life. Spend more time with my family and friends and stop worrying about what needs to get done according to my “list” and just relax.
My idea of cultivating a good life and recording it has changed drastically over the past five years due to some life circumstances that I just never thought would happen to me. I have learned that cultivating a good life can be as simple as sitting down and playing SkipBo with my son INSTEAD of taking him to an expensive movie. And something as simple as a walk in the park with my husband is creating a memory that I will cherish. Last year I chose not to do Project Life because of everything our lives were lacking…little did I know how much of our lives I was not recording. This year I am back at it. I’ve only completed four weeks worth of my album, but I’ve collected everything I need to be current. I look back at our pictures and I see smiles, fun and so much love in our everyday tasks around the house and around town. We don’t need to go anywhere fancy or do anything over the top to make memories-we just need each other to cultivate a good life-and this mommy/wife to record it. Thank you Becky!!!
For me…cultivating a good life means to make the best of what we have been given. 3 years ago, my husband got sick with what we thought was the flu, but ended up being a debilitating autoimmune disease that attacked his brain and nervous system. After months in ICU’s, rehab hospitals, therapy, etc…he’s so far from where he was. He will never return to 100% and its been a very long and tough road…but we do our best to live life to the fullest. My little guy was 6 months old when the journey happened….and I have to say that he has not lacked in a single thing. I try to “cultivate the good life” for all of us…and know that even though we may have barriers that some may see as unsurmountable…it hasn’t and it will not keep us from having the “Good Life.”
Cultivating a good life….it’s the focus of my YEAR this year….after five years of a roller coaster life, I’ve realized I’m not taking care of myself mentally, spiritually, physically…. It’s time to shape up and start doing a little self care so I can take better care of my family. It’s all about daily art, journaling, eating better, excersizing more, and being more PRESENT with my kids and my husband.
I’m two months in and going strong….YAY ME!
For me it’s making time with my daughter a priority, and not getting stressed over silly things like whether or not the house is spotless (because it never is). She’s what’s important.
A good life for me is where I am true to myself. Where my children will be true to themselves, no matter what. A good cultivated life is for me a life where I can make a difference in the life of other people, where my children will know that I love them and where I can record my own personal story, so that they know who I am and was.
Cultivating a good life to me is living a life that is full. Not full of material items, but a life that is full of love, goodness, sweet memories and most importantly God and then using my life to do some good in the world – no matter how small – just to do some good and touch a life. Doesn’t have to be a BIG impact because usually it’s the small ones that make the most difference. Then my hope is that the small impact my life has made will show my children how much I love them and God and they will grow up to be good people who use their lives in the same way. Cultivating a good life is just remembering that our lives DO matter and what we do with our lives DOES make a difference in someone else’s life – whether it be our spouse, our children, a friend or a stranger … we need to take care of the important things in our lives and remember what is truly important. Then our lives will grow into something bigger than ourselves. We’ll become a bright spot in the world and in the lives of those around us. The world needs more bright spots, I think.
Hugs, Becky!
I was laid off at the beginning of this year, so I am using this time of transition to reconnect with my family, take my toddler to play in the mornings, and get myself in better shape emotionally, spiritually, and physically. I am so blessed and happy that I have started doing Project Life and able to focus on the small things that make up our life instead of doing a layout on an event. Totally changed my perspective…thanks Becky!
Cultivating a good life to me is being content. It means being willing to follow my husband’s job across the country even when I don’t want to move AGAIN! It means putting on a happy face for my kids so they will have an easier time transitioning as we prepare for a potential move from TX to MN!! (Talk about extreme opposite ends of the country – and weather!) It means being able to see that God has a plan in EVERYTHING, and I need to be WILLING to follow that plan even when I can’t see the outcome.
For me it’s about living in the present, trying to let things go, learning to live a simpler life but a fuller life. Less being more. I am going through a lot with my son right now and his well being is so important. So finding balance for him and myself is so important.
Thanks so much for a chance to win this kit!
Cultivating a good life is about BaLaNcE …. serve my family and God and never lose myself
Cultivating a good life means loving and appreciating the life I’m living. It means providing a great upbringing for my sweet children. Creating a home environment full of love, laughter, and learning. Appreciating each other, and documenting how the hand of God touches our lives each and everyday.
Cultivating a good life for me is balancing the various roles as a Mom and enjoying the journey.
I try to make a conscious effort to live in the moment and truly enjoy my daughters and appreciate the blessing that they are. Sometimes hard when I am constantly on the go, tackling homework, supervising baths, teeth brushing etc.
Live for the moment and treasure every minute, Life is a blessing from above.
Not giving up! That’s my motto right now. Having my 6th child at 46 after 8 years have gone by, I have to keep reminding myself that life is all about the journey. Thank you , Becky, for the inspiration to document and dream! BTW, life does go by so much faster at this age.
Going to sleep at night knowing I made the best choices I could that day.
Cultivating a good life to me is all about family. I cherish each moment with my husband of 39 years, my two children and their spouses, and my four grandsons!! We are truly blessed. My cup runneth over with joy!!
I work full time, so cultivating a good life means taking the time when I’m away from work to cultivate my relationship with my son and my husband. It means leaving work at work and not letting it seep into my time at home. It means being fully present in the moment and not worrying about whether the carpet needs to be vacuumed or whether the dishwasher needs to be loaded/unloaded. All of this is easier said than done, but I try to do my best every day! Thanks for the giveaway!
living every day like it’s your last. spending quality AND quantity time with each child and my husband. teaching my children the lessons behind the weekend chores. watching my oldest put those lessons to work in her own home and family! that has been a great reward!
In this moment cultivating a good life means making everyday enjoyable and special for our three children. My hope is that when they are adults with children of their own they will think back with a smile in their hearts about something silly that we do together, that it brings them back home.
for me cultivating a good life is finding the joy in the moment. I use to go thru life so fast I was busy missing the small moments and always searching for the big. My goal now has been to search for the every day joys in my life. That is why I love Project Life!! An easy way remind me of the joys in my life.
I find that cultivating a good life is something that must be continually focused on. I tend to get lost in the day-to-day grind and lose sight of the real purpose, meaning and joy of life. So, for me, I am taking 15 minutes a day to contact old friends or write notes by hand to thank friends and loved ones for being part of my life. Your post on the purpose of the task has really helped in bringing clarity to this for me. Thank you for all you do to inspire us.
Cultivating a good life, to me, is recognizing my strengths outweigh my weaknesses; showing my children by example what it is to be a good person; and working every day to be as good or better than I was yesterday.
I have one child. I always wanted one or two more, but now that I am approaching 35, I realize that I will probably not have another. While that breaks my heart, I’ve always looked at my daughter knowing that I only get one shot at doing this right. I take lots of pictures. I don’t ever want to forget a single moment. My pictures may be unorganized, but I have them and I treasure them.
We saw it….I cried too. His dad seeing him in concert for the first time. Wah! I am mom to 3 beautiful daughters who all LOVE Justin Bieber. My 6 year old…who can’t quit singing “Baby” is having a JB themed birthday party this Friday. I am loving all the purple!
Cultivating a good life…I do that every day by making sure my husband and girls have what they need to be happy. I take time to make sure I have the things I need to be happy. My faith helps inspire a good life for me and my family. Finding the “happy” in the smallest of things makes life so much better.
Cultivating a good life to me means…..living each day not taking anything for granted. Living in the moment, cherishing the good and the bad. Life is short, enjoy it.
Cultivating a good life is about being aware and grateful for the little things as well as the big things.
Thanks for the opportunity!
Cultivating a good life means doing things that i really like and put freedom in my life.
My dreams are for my kids…especially my daughter. This became evident last night as we watched the Oscars last night 200 miles apart!! Her dream is to sing and act! And the confidence she has at the age of 20 is overwhelming to me!! As she texted me her plans to take me to the Oscars and walk the Red Carpet one day, I was filled such pride!! She has so much more confidence at 20 than I do at 40!! Not sure where she gets it
but there is NO WAY on this earth that I am going to squash those dreams!!! Sorry…didn’t mean to go on so long!!
Appreciating the little things in life. And following the “Golden Rule.”
I cried at the Justin Beiber movie too!!
Cultivating a good life to me means, making memories, noticing the little things as well as the big and being thankful for it all!!
Cultivating a good life to me is being able to start over again no matter how old you are. I was married for 23 years and my marriage fell apart. Starting over in my late 40′s was harder than I could ever have imagined. The journey has not been easy, but I am starting a new career, making some serious life style changes and moving forward. I am truely cultivating a good life. Thanks Becky for giving me the perfect phrase for describing what I am attempting to to do.
To me, a good life includes at least a brief time every day to pause and look back, realizing “that was lovely.”
Make (and take) time for family and faith. The two go hand in hand.
Cultivating a good life is being the best “Me” that I can possiblly be. Being true to myself and my family – and I do have the BEST family EVER.
Cultivating a good life, to me, is all about being present. Being there in the moment as I play with my daughters or talk with my husband. It’s too easy to always be thinking ahead, about what I need to get done or who I need to call and when I do that, I find I miss the funny little things my girls say or that I don’t remember something my husband told me just moments ago… Being present is a great way to lead a good life.
Living each moment – good or not so great – with the realization that it is precious. Making the effort to learn from those moments and then finding the joy and peace of it all. Being grateful for wonderful family and friends that keep things in perspective and help me grow.
Cultivating a great life for me is about not trying to let the world interfere with what I want my kids to be. I want to let them be innocent as long as possible. I want to cultivate a home of love, fun and faith!
Cultivating a good life to me means..God 1st, Family 2nd, and everything else seems to fall right into place if I follow 1 and 2. Thank you for the chance to win one of your awesome kits.
I would like to nominate my Sister Marci….her husband has just joined the Army and completed basic training and has already been sent to Officer Training School where they won’t see him again until at least May. He will then more than likely be deployed somewhere for who knows how long. She has two small boys whom they adopted, both with special needs. The oldest has a heart condition that will someday need a heart transplant, but just not yet and has been granted a Make A Wish vacation. I want her to do Project Life so badly for multiple reasons. First, for her husband to see what he has missed while he is away. Secondly, to document the amazing vacation they are being granted, and third to document her son’s medical journey. She doesn’t have much time anymore for scrapbooking and I know this is something she could find time for. By the way, I am on year two of Project Life and it has been a wonderful experience for me, so thank you!!
Cultivating a good life is taking the time to recognize moments and to create moments for yourself and those around you. It could be a spontaneous picnic, ooohing and aahhing over a drawing, making homemade yeast rolls or cookies, or just stopping to look at how the light is coming in at just the right angle to truly illuminate your loved ones face. THAT is cultivating real life.
I am simply working for a softer place for my children to live. I am so inspired by your POTD, and the love the prompting to document these sweet moments. I had no idea so much would come from Bieber. May have to see that one. I appreciate the benevolent nature of famous people giving tickets and such away. It will make a lasting impression on people, and teach them benevolence. Thanks for the giveaway.
Cultivating a good life means making my life the best possible!
I am working on spending more quality time with my children and making memories. To often I “shush” them away so I can facebook or browse the net, that is NOT what I want them to remember. I want them to remember my love and all the fun we had
Cultivating a good life to me is appreciating my life and being a great mom and wife. I try every day to appreciate all I have and not take things for granted. My goal is to have a greater faith in the Lord and enjoy each moment rather than worrying about tomorrow!! Chatham, NJ
I just discovered Project Life and LOVE that it’s NOT just event based scrapbooking. I LOVE that it’s not about the newest paper or the coolest embellishment or latest trend. I LOVE that it’s all about the here and now!
Cultavating a good life for me means making the best out of the everyday moments. I am a single mom getting ready to celebrate my 31st birthday, raising a special needs little boy, alone, is NOT where I thought I would be at 31. I married at 23, had the house, the car, a great job, I had it all. Two years ago, it all came crashing down, when my ex husband admitted some “indescrections.”
While this isnt the life I had planned, I can say it is a good life. I find so much joy in the everyday giggles of my son, the mundane “chores” of being a mom, and the comfort of great friends. To me that is what makes a good life .
Cultivating a good life? I am reminded of this from Henry Van Dyke – Be Glad of Life, because it gives you the chance to love, to work, to play to look up at the stars; to be satisfied with your possessions’ to despise nothing in the world except falsheood and meaness, and to fear nothing except cowardice; to be governed by your admirations rather than by your disgusts; to covet nothing that is your neighbor’s except his kindness of heart and gentleness of manners; to think sledom of your enemies, often of your friends and to spend as much time as you can with body and spirit. These are the little guideposts on the footpath to peace. Project life would give me way to document how Glad of Life I am, and to pass this documentation on to my 2yearold grandson Miller.
To me, cultivating a good life means to always count my blessings and recognize where they came from. Thanks so much for the post! And giveaway!!
Cultivating a good life to me is Leaving A Legacy! You are so right… “along the way, make the effort to document and record the journey. The good, the bad, the ugly. Because when we do this, we are honoring our past, our progression, and our passion.”
Thanks for sharing this delightful story!
Deb
Wow! I love how you found so much inspiration in an unexpected place! It must feel amazing!
This year I have been working to cultivate a good life for myself and my husband since we don’t have kids yet. As of Jan 1st we both left our full time jobs to pursue our dreams. His to have his own company and mine to work with my passion of being creative. We both realized that life is too short to be stuck doing something that makes us unhappy… we have sacrificed a lot to take these steps and are having to teach ourselves to live a different lifestyle as a steady income has been sacrificed. However, I continue to document it by any means I can, as one day when we have kids I want to be able to show them the things we did, thought, and said during this journey to living off doing what we love and that with the right cultivation and perseverance they can do anything they dream to do too!
Cultivating a good life to me means finding happiness in the everyday, living in the moment, and remembering the good times. AND recording it in a simple way that only takes a little bit of time!! Thanks for all you do/ideas you share!
This is something I am working very hard on right now. My 3 year old has leukemia and is having chemotherapy. It would be easy to slip into the seriousness of our circumstances and forget to seek joy instead. Everyday we find moments to laugh, dance, be silly, to truly enjoy life through our circumstances.
I live in Culver City CA, USA
For me, cultivating a good life means balance. This is a concept I struggle with so I constantly have to remind myself that balance is good and that means making time to spend with friends and family and realizing how blessed I am to have them to spend time with. Thanks for the opportunity!
Cultivating a good life is about being optimistic and appreciating the good — even when bad happens.
Cultivating a good life for me is just live each day to the fullest, not take the people I love for granted and to make sure I tell them everyday that I love them with all that I have
Cultivating a good life to me means living my life with all its trials and joys to the fullest. I want my life lived to be a legacy to my family now and through my documenting it I hope forver.
It’s about documenting this period in time, and remembering that life is in the little things.
I’m from Castle Rock Colorado. To me, cultivating a good life means really living abundantly and not letting your fears and anxieties get the best of you. It also goes back to the golden rule and to respecting others. Those are the things that I base my life around: being a nice person and enjoying all the ups and downs of life.
Cultivating a good life is cherishing family and friends. I need to learn to live each day to it’s fullest. I want to serve God and be a good wife and a good mother to my 3 children. And of course, taking video and pictures of my wonderful life.
Denise
Bourbonnais, Illinois
Cultivating a good live means focusing on what is important and on I have been given – and helping my children to do the same. Not wishing their days and lives away for better times or “things”. Documenting both the big and little events in their lives in photographs and journaling definitely is a great way to show them just that.
For me, cultivating a good life means living in each and every moment. Taking in all the beauty and gifts we often walk by or take for-granted, such as leaves falling, sunrises, and kids playing. Everyone seems to be in such a rush in this day and age, so being able to slow down, take a breath and see this makes such a difference. I teach yoga, and try every day to inspire others to just breathe and be once in a while. Appreciate and have gratitude for everything we have in our lives.
We have adopted my two nephews in addition to raising our own three children. To me, cultivating a good life is all about taking it as it comes and making the best of it. I love a plan, but I’m learning that day by day and week by week it may not look like I planned, but we are cultivating an amazing life together.
Author John Acuff tweeted this yesterday and it resonates with me when you mention a good life:
Being aware of the story God is unfolding as he unfolds it, instead of realizing what was happening years later, is a gift.
Cultivating a good life for me is all about appreciating every one of my blessings & teaching that attitude to my 4 children.
To me, cultivating a good life means to do the right thing everyday–do what the Lord would have me do. Somedays it might be to work really hard and other days it might be to relax with my family, but regardless, I need to make the best choices so that at the end of the day, I can say I did some good in the world today!
Cultivating a good life to me is making the most important things a priority and don’t sweat the small stuff. My 7 year old growing up and finding his way in life, my husband still really “liking” me after 14 years together, laughter, all of the everyday stuff, that is what brings me so much happiness. If the laundry doesn’t get done, oh well.
Thanks for the give away Becky!
Cultivating a good life to me means being present in family moments, recognizing my young children are growing too fast, enjoying the moments, and of course DOCUMENTING THEM
The weird thing is when you’re “grown up” (just turned 50) you think you should have it all together, but there are still times when you feel and act like a 16 year old. It’s essential to have good friends to help you through all those moments. And, it’s essential to appreciate them when they are having their moments.
For me cultivating a good life, means being content with what we have, showing respect and appreciation for everything we have been given and to teach that to my young boys too.
It means creating the best memories I can with my husband and my sons….showing them how much I love and appreciate having them in my life!
Thank you for this opportunity!!
I would also like to nominate Monica’s sister’s Marci. I just happened to sit down and read her comment before writing my own and she really deserves and needs this. Cultivating a good life is working at making others life easier and better. Its about making your family proud and being a person your children can look up to.
Currently I am working towards a dream of starting up my own little Etsy shop where I will sell something that I love.
Sherwood, OR
For me, cultivating a good life means embracing what you are given, no matter how that might look to others. When our first child was diagnosed with a terminal illness we had a choice to focus on his pending death or celebrate the life he had at that moment in time. Not only did we learn that life is not always what you planned, but life is always worth celebrating and capturing. I am so thankful that I wasn’t afraid to continue living – we have many memories of his LIFE and our time together as a family. I still haven’t done a special book about Cale but I want to and know at some point Project Life or one of your photobook ideas will be the perfect fit.
Until then, thanks for inspiring all of us to seize the day.
Blessings,
Helen
I am sitting here in the (still) frozen tundra of Eastern Idaho and feeling a bit sad that my oldest just left on his first nonchurch outing. I feel that cultivating a good life for our family, is based on teaching and learning the gospel, raising our boys the best way we can and helping those around us who have needs. Our boys are at the time in their lives when they are flying a little further than this mom would like, but I know that they are being taught and have learned how to be good people. The best part of scrapbooking is knowing that someone, somewhere will be thrilled to know what my life and that of my children was like.
(I secretly want at least one of my boys to want to see this movie and so far none of them do…)
This is an awesome giveaway
This weekend we went to a Monster Truck show and the GraveDigger driver came up to our way up high seats to give my son an autographed hat. You see, my son had made a poster and somehow that driver saw us from all the way down on the floor. He took the effort and time to make my son’s day. He high-fived him and gave my son a hug. It was quite a memory. I was snapping pictures as fast as I could. Later, my son was talking about how great it all was. Then, quietly, he said, “I hope I remember my childhood.” That is why I want to cultivate a good life and record it. I want my 3 sons to grow up and remember the wonderful childhood they had. I want them to remember how much we loved them. Sorry so long!!!
I’d like to nominate my friend Kim. She has had many struggles in the last few years, loosing her dad, having a miscarriage. She finally had her second child when her older daughter was 7 yrs old. When her baby boy was 8 months old, he was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. The pediatrician had totally missed it until then. Since that time, she puts in so much time and energy to get that adorable toddler to his many specialist and therapy appointments. She is incredibly busy and barely has time to breathe, let alone scrapbook. And yet when I lost my job in January, she was totally there for me, helping me get my resume in order and get a job search started. She even has dragged me out of my own meloncholy depression. Project Life would really enable her to document her time now with her 2 beautiful children, and the amazing journey their on as they learn to live and grow with Down Syndrome.
I have felt for a long time that we were always just waiting for something. Like, “when my husband’s out of school, then we’ll REALLY be living our life.” Or, “when the kids are just a little older, we’ll REALLY be able to do things and have fun and all the effort required will be worth it.” But I finally realized that our kids are growing EVERY DAY, and I need to enjoy and be in the moment RIGHT NOW. These are the times they’ll look back on. They won’t just remember after daddy gets his doctorate and starts working and we have a nice house and new car and can take bigger vacations. They’ll remember the stuff we’re doing right now, so I need to put more effort into making today fun. I do need to decorate for holidays, because it’s important to start traditions as early as possible. So that’s what my life is about: enjoying right now and making it as special as possible.
Very thought provoking prompt. And a generous gift. Thank you.
I gave it some thought and truly believe that cultivating a good life is being a good person, choosing what’s right in your friendships over what you want. It’s about surrounding yourself with a variety of good people.
Make sure each person that is in your life is there for a reason. I choose to surround myself with people who inspire me to be better, do better and think better. People who remind me to be humble and who will be there for me at 3am even if i just need to talk.
I have a good man for a husband and I do everything I can to raise my kids to be good people too. Life is all about your relationships, be a good friend, mom, wife; and you’ll have good friends, kids and a good husband.
“Cultivating a Good Life”…that’s an excellent question. Clean kitchen?, well not really…but it can’t hurt. Is it an uncluttered living room? Probably not…but again, it can’t hurt. I have this quote over our fireplace that says, “Family~a journey to forever”…and that is what I think Cultivating a good life is. It’s family. And it’s not a single moment in time, eventhough there are great moments, it’s about the journey. The journey or in other words, the “cultivating”, with family is what makes a good life. Sometimes those times can be hard when you’re cultivating and you may have to pull a few weeds, or loosen up the dirt and add some more fertilizer so that everything else can bloom. But it’s the end result that you’re looking forward to and it makes the hard work worth it, priceless even.
Having a personal relationship with the Lord. When He is first, you see the world through different eyes. Thanks for the Project Life giveaway!
Cultivate a good life…..living life to the fullest potential with a smile on my face~! Amoung many other things…
Thanks
Trindin
Michigan
Oh, I live in Mechanicsville, VA.
Cultivating a good life is………
trying to remember who I was before my daughter died, some days its hard to not hide away in bed, and just listen to my other kids playing and laughing.
I started to take a photo a day to push myself back into my family, and join them in there days, hide behind my camera.
it really has helped me to “see” them and what I’m missing
Project Life is a great idea, when I look at photos and little trinkets, I see my life in a different way
Thanks
It is daily appreciation for what one has been given – good and bad. It is moving with the flow – not against it. Don’t swim upriver – you’ll wear yourself out! After raising 3 kids (scrapbooking all along the way) I’ve decided to hone my talents and become an official graphic designer. I’m working toward that in school right now! Thanks for all of the inspiration over the years, Becky!
Love from Colorado!
Cultivating a good life means ensuring the happiness & success of my family.
Becky- FYI – Gnomeo and Juliet was a pretty cute show. I was very skeptical but was pleasantly surprised. My nine year old daughter loved it.
To me I have had to learn to take each day and enjoy it because very soon my husband will be leaving for deployment and he won’t be by my side but will be in my heart at least until he comes home. I so hope the time goes by fast!
Well. . . .cultivating a good life to me means. . . .doing whatever it takes to find God’s will for my life, and along the way raising my children to have the confidence, knowledge, and integrity to do the same. The Project Life product means to me. . .that even if I’m no long around to tell these stories, or God forbid I forget any of them. . .my family will be able to read them and look at the pictures that correspond and pass it on forever.
Cultivating a good life to me means finding that happy medium in our crazy lives. I think that we sometimes get overwhelmed with ALL of the stuff that has to be done that we easily overlook what needs to be done. I love when I am able to stand back and say NO, that is not important…this is! I would love a Project For Life so I can record what matters the most right now!
I loved the Justin Bieber movie too! I finally took my 9 year old out on a date night and she wanted to see this cause all of the girls at school are always talking about him. When we left she said to me “I think I have Beiber Fever too now, Mom”. That was one of those I love my life moments!
I lost my brother when I was ten and both my parents within a year and half of each other, so I have learned family is so very important. I always try to keep my humor in the bad time and I try to enjoy all the little moments with my girls who are growing up way to fast!
To me, cultivating a good life is what my mom always used to tell me: “Leave a place better than you found it.” I try to do that. I try to never leave a place without serving, and I try never to leave a person without saying or doing something to make them feel better.
thanks, Becky!
Talitha
Aurora, CO
cultivating a good life here in Walland, TN is just me realizing how good i have it…a husband who is my best friend, kids to snuggle and teach and guide and love, a comfy home and hobbies that fulfill my creative side! LIFE IS GREAT, never forget that!
For me it is thinking of others – doing at least one good deed daily unselfishly-it doesn’t matter if it costs nothing ,alittle or my time.
cultivating a good life means waking up each day and repeating this: breathe, believe, release, receive.
Cultivating a good life to me means making the most of the opportunities that are presented to me to enjoy my life and make it the best I can for those I love and to document that love and pride in my scrapbook pages.
What I am working towards is helping my children realise that they are responsible for documenting the lives of their children and that this doesn’t have to be a big time or big money thing, simply taking photos and notes is fine.
Thanks for the opportunity to win such a great giveaway.
for me, cultivating a good life is simple. taking what my heavenly father has given me…my talents, gifts, short comings, etc. and using those things to reach out and bless the lives of those around me. that includes my hubby and my kids. i hope this year that i will look @ the things life throws at me and see them as blessings and opportunities, rather than mumble and complain.
cheryl a.
springville, utah
ps- i am in venice beach, ca
I think my greatest dream right now is to help my kids be their best selves. Every day I look at them and hold them I realize just how special they are and how lucky I am to have them.
I am in Spanish Fork, Utah
What a great chance to win. I’ve loved reading everyone’s responses. At this stage in my life “cultivating a good life” means living for me. It sounds so selfish, especially as a single person. But it’s easy to forget (especially in the scrapbooking world) that single people have demands on their lives too – maybe not from spouses or children but from parents, family, co-workers, etc.
Cultivating a good life for me is about raising my sons with the values and belief systems I feel are important. It is about cherishing their individual personalities and enjoying the moments of childhood together never losing focus that they are a gift on loan to us.
Nicki
Peoria AZ
Cultivating a good life means toappreciating what I have. Thanks so much for the giveaway!!
To me, cultivating a good life means do the best we can at molding our children’s lives so they can be the best, productive citizens/human beings they can possibly be – and maybe in the process make a difference in this crazy world.
I truly believe a good life is cultivated in not only the “big” things but by the seemingly mundane daily routines – preparing nutritious lunches for my young children to eat at school every day, date night with my spouse, nursing my childrens’ ills in addition to my patients, getting to the gym to keep myself healthy – the list goes on. I am grateful to document every day so that, despite life’s hiccups, I can see the “big picture” – a good upbringing for my family, a satisfying and connecting relationship with my spouse, and a rewarding career.
oopsie! I forgot to say that I live in beautiful Vernon, BC Canada
cultivating a good life to me, is to stop and smell the roses. and not be so swept up in the to-dos and enjoy a little bit of life every single day.
Cultivating a good life is instilling Godly values in our kids and knowing that God has given us what we have and to appreciate and be content with it. Everything is for His glory. It is hard to stay “grounded” in this material world, but we try (even though we have failed many times!).
To me, cultivating a good life is creating a family with my husband. We have one daughter already & a baby on the way. I worked toward several different goals in my life, but I always wanted to be a mommy & now that I am, that is what matters most to me. I want to be the best mom I can be & give my children every chance to pursue the things that interest them!
Lakeland, Florida
My dream right now is for family. I have the most amazing little family right now…my husband and our two dogs, and various farm animals. And our extended family is wonderful as well. But we’re praying for the right time to grown our family with a little person as well. We are thankful for every part of our very full lives. We’ve heard people say before, “I can’t imagine bringing children into the world right now.” Well, we can’t imagine NOT bringing them into our little world. So, that’s my dream…to have a little one sometime in the near future!
Like you said…the good and the bad. So I really try to appreciate what I do have…to be a good person each and everyday. Take care of my family, and I REALLY see all the little things. Its the little things that ARE big to me.
Good questions. I have recently been struggling in my mind what my priorities are and what is important. I just went to part time so I can spend more time with my kids! Cultivating a good life to me means having an independent, happy family. I want my kids to remember the little happy everyday things we do. Having more time, I would love to be able to record my memories more. I would love to have my kids look back and remember that day we went to the park, or zoo, or make cookies, etc.
Thanks! Love the idea of Project Life.
I think cultivating a good life is often about working towards dreams, but also about being open to the everyday that happens around us – appreciate it! And that is what Project Life can do! Thanks for the inspiration today as I need to get some pictures developed to put in mine and this was the impetus! Awesome!
Cultivating a good life means enjoying every minute and recognizing that this life we live is fleeting. It means remembering those who have gone on and welcoming the new souls that have such a great impact on our lives.
Jessica Dean
Wendell, NC
Cultivating a Good Life means….. making the most of what you have, and striving to always do your best, be your best, and make the world a better place, whether it be through great or small acts.
Lately—It’s been having a “Great attitude” towards Everything—Wheather you want to or not—
Your attitude shows alot about you and I’ve started every morining with—-”Put a smile on your face and tackle whatever comes your way!!!!!!!!!”
vicki in ga
a new passion of mine is running and I have a dream to run a marathon someday!
Franklin, Ma
Cultivating a good life is seeking out real truth – not just those things that come and go with passing years – and living it, loving it, and sharing it with others.
Giving back or investing in others. People will never remember who I was but they will remember how I made them feel. Would love to try out Project Life as I’m mostly a digital scrapbooker and am interested in the possibilities.
Cultivating a Good Life- For us this means becoming Debt Free this year! We want to teach our children how to be good steward’s of the money we have and how important it is not to be slave to a lender, etc… We also want to live like nobody else! lol We are on our way and very motivated. My husband has a large investment in his education/career and that will be the last to pay off and I am hoping in a year from now to call Dave Ramsey up and be all done except for the mortgage.
We too considered the Beiber movie this weekend and Gnomeo and Juliet actually won out as my kids are not big Beiber fans… they are still young too. But I have heard it is a very good movie- friends have said it is better than one might expect.
The Gnomeo movie was actually pretty cute.
Thanks for sharing. I have enjoyed getting to know more about Project Life and this makes me excited about scrapbooking again!!
Cultivating a good life to me is making sure I make choices that I can be happy with for a long time.
Cultivating a good life means not having any regrets. Will I ever get to Australia with my kids…50% chance, but in between we are living life to the fullest. I live by the rule that God forbid something ever happen to one of them. I do not want to look back and so ph, I wish I would have dons this or I wish I would have taken that time off to see them get their award. There are no “re-dos.”Can we do it all, no, but we do the simple things that I record so when we all look back and when they look back they will see that we all did it together.
If I am blessed to be chosen though, I would like to give the kit to my “sista,” Jennifer. She is a very hard working single mother of 3 that loves life. The energy that she gives to her “blessings,” is amazing. I believe Project Life would be an incredible gift to her as a way to further document the lives of her blessings. Her oldest graduates this year and is headed off to the Air Force. When he told his younger siblings, they cried. They already understand the sacrifice he is willing to make.
Thank you,
Michelle
Cultivating a good life is teaching your kids or showing the people around you the morals and ethics you were taught as a child…to love one another like yourself.
Cultivating a good life means being in tune with God and how He created me and being ready for what He has for me. And being grateful for the generations past and leaving a legacy for my kids within their family heritage.
Cultivating a good life to me means being appreciative of all the blessings in my life…. my husband, my children, our health, and everything else that is so generously given to us by our Heavenly Father.
Liz from Cordova, TN
To me cultivating a good life means spending time with family and being in the moment!
I know for me cultivating a good life is a process that I work on daily. I’ve been working on removing the stressors from my life. This way when I interact with people those stressors aren’t negatively impacting the interaction I’m having with them.
Forgot to say in the middle of the Mojave Desert, CA
I am nominating my friend Dani from Sherwood, Oregon. She is an amazing friend, and an amazing mother of twin two year old REDHEAD girls. She works so hard to keep an organized home for her family. By keeping the house running so smoothly, it allows her to enjoy time with her family. I don’t honestly know how she does it, but hey, you do what you have to do right? Anyways, she is is the one who introduced me to Project Life, and looking at her book from last year just made me want to do it as well. She has documented the better part of her life in scrapbooks. I envy & I love that! Her girls are SO lucky!
Sorry for the long post!
Thanks!
Chrisite
I believe it’s never too late to cultivate a good life. I don’t have children in my life but I do have friends and organizations I’m passionate about. I regret that I don’t have more pictures of my father, for instance, so I want to make sure that the people around me are celebrated so we’ll all know they and their passions were here.
Right now, for me, cultivating a good life is about being a good mom and creating a sweet home life for my family. I am loving documenting this sweet time in my family’s life and by documenting it I find myself more present each day…which can only bring more goodness to our lie!
Becky,
Cultivating a good life, is passing on our values and beliefs to our children so that they in turn can pass it along also. Live each day to the fullest and do something special for someone. FYI, the screaming teenage girl wil come, unfortunatly. With 2 in the earl 20′s, and one a teen now, I’ve seen my share of Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Brittany Spears, and others when they were younger. And now with a 9 y/o at home it’s all about Justin.
I try to live life appreciating the blessings that I have, not worrying about what I don’t. Living in NYC you can really get caught up in the hustle and stress, but remembering to be thankful helps keep me grounded.
For me cultivating a good life means being grateful for the best gifts of life, family, and love and praying for help to handle the good and the bad.
My dream is to get organized…
Project Life is a good start to that…organizing the everyday photos has made me sort through and put older photos into books!
Becky – you are so inspiring – thank you for the encouragement to find the joy and blessings that surround us in our every day lives – in our celebraions – and even in our trials. Recognizing and focusing on those blessings is what cultivating a good life means to me. I am turning my camera off of auto mode and giving manual mode a try to help capture the joy & blessings, not only to help me focus on my priorities but also to capture the moments visually to share them with my children.
I think that cultivation your life means to try our best to raise our children to be the best they can be and to never give. To appreciate what they have and to make the world a better place.
I want to nominate my sister in law, Diane. She is cultivating the best life for a little 3 year old with PKU by living out side of the box. She has to count every thing that he eats to control the amount of protein in his diet. She is always going to workshops, doctor appts, trying to new recipes with ingredients that are not readily available where we live. She makes his life as normal as possible. Food surrounds us in so many situations and in those are a lot of memories made and because of his mom they are good memories. Diane needs a way to document her miracle boy’s life with out it taking all of her time. He truly is a miracle because if not detected at birth it is fatal or can cause sever mental retardation. He is totally normal because of good doctors and an amazing mom.
For me it means making the best of every day & making sure those we love, KNOW it. Spending time with those who matter. I would like to nominate my friend Gale, she is starting over & it is not easy… She has battled breast cancer & is a survivor, I know she’ll come out on top in the end (O:
Good Luck everyone!!
Cultivating a good life means guiding my children to the BEST option: for themselves, others, and society in general.
Heather
Mechanicsville, VA
To me cultivating a good life means making choices based on what is the most important! My kids and my husband. Those little choices we make determine where we are headed! And recording all that is important too!
Your emotions mirror my own when I saw “Never Say Never” with my own 6 yo daughter. I found myself embracing this young boy’s dream and thinking of how we, as parents, have the ability to nurture our children so that THEY can live their dreams, too. Living the good life for me, means cherishing the time I have with my daughter and my husband, and thanking God each day for my blessings; creating a life in which we can make time to enjoy our passions every day; enjoying every moment and taking the time to notice the good in everything; and loving that my husband credits our relationship with changing his viewpoint on life for the better – he was a very career driven man when we met… but through our love he now sees his life as fuller and richer, not b/c of his “rung on the career ladder”, but b/c of the fullness of living a good life together, playing, laughing and loving. What a fantastic reminder to document our lives – both good & not so good! Thanks for the oppty to win Project Life, too!
To me personally, cultivating a good life is still working and putting effort into a marriage after 22 years. Focusing on the simple things, like please and thank you. Giving hugs and kisses when leaving and arriving back home, making your spouse feel appreciated, just plain and simply put… LOVE. So many marriages get lost in the process when children arrive, and we were one of them. We have committed to working hard to continue to “cultivate a good life” not only as a family, but as a couple.
Helping my kids become well rounded happy giving people…from Minnesota
Cultivating a good life is being the best you can be, and being able to accept the good and the bad. It is hard to teach to the kids, but it is an important lesson for them to learn.
Dawn in Montana
I’m trying to cultivate a good life by being in the moment with my kids (2.5yo & 2 months) and not being distracted by the computer, reading or other things. Also not just focusing on them but also focusing on myself and my husband.
Julie
Combined Locks, Wisconsin
Cultivating a good life means taking what you have and who you are RIGHT NOW and using those tools to live a fulfilling existence. It isn’t about what I would do if I had “X” or if I knew “Mr. R”. It’s about meeting your world and your God where you are and doing works accordingly. And even that takes practice. But that’s alright. It makes the journey very interesting!
Thank you, Becky, for inspiring us on a regular basis. You are making a difference with who you are and what you have RIGHT NOW!
Brenda
Roseville, CA
“Cultivating a Good Life” to me means raising my children to be self-sufficient and good stewards. My hope for them is that I have done everything possible to make them think of others before they think of themselves and to, above all, keep Christ in their life. I hope that our everyday life is a good example to them. I want them to one day look back at their scrapbooks and be able to “feel” my arms around them. Live, Love, and Laugh….
Cultivating a good life means taking the very best care of my family and nurturing my creativity and that of my children as well.
To me, cultivating a good life means being the best person that I can be. To be the best mother to my 2 kids, the best wife to my husband. The best daughter, sister, aunt, cousin. To live the way the Gospel teaches.
And to record the journey along the way!
Thanks so much for this opportunity
For me, cultivating a good life has always been about my family. But I’ve come to realize that even though it’s about them, it’s about me too. What I choose to do in my life, who I am, etc. affects them tremendously. I am at a crossroads in my career right now (at age 41!) and it is oh so difficult contemplating decisions that affect us all!
Cultivating a good life is simply finding your God given talent, finding your passion and putting both together for one AMAZING ride, all the while praising the ONE above for all your blessings along the way. It doesn’t get much better than that.
I’m going to nominate my friend Jacquie who just recently moved to Red Deer, Alberta and whom I miss dearly. She’s busy trying to cultivate a good life while battling with her youngest’s (7!) diabetes! She’s busy taking blood sugar levels, counting carbs and doing the best by her family but I’m sure she’s not had a lot of time to scrapbook but Project Life might just give her that little push she needs!
Cultivating a good life – Enjoying every moment of everyday, not taking a single thing for granted.
Appreciating the little things in life and big things too! Keeping healthy and active – but never passing up a frosted cupcake or big bowl of my favorite ice-cream! Loving and hugging my amazing, supportive family and friends, and my soon-to-be handsome husband!
A BIG thank you from Niagara Falls, NY!
Cultivating a good life to me is trying to be the best person you can be, walking with God everyday. Being an encouragement to someone, a listener, a helper, being generous with money but also with your time. Staying positive even in bad times. If your children see you everyday using these attributes, I believe that they will grow up to use these and will themselves cultivate a good life.
I LOVED the movie myself (twice). I am so impressed that that have video from age 2 on and that his mom/grandparents reared him in a firm but loving way. Great documentary and I have been a fan of his toe tapping music for a while!
For me its being home for my family day in and day out. Regardless of wanting to go back to work! I have been home for 10 years so far and would love to return to school for a degree in photography, but my kids need me here for anything and everything. I see the difference it has made so far because my kids are very down to earth loving kids. And when a Dr. That I have never seen before comments on how well behaved they have been in her office for 2.5 hours, I know that has a lot to do with me being here everyday!!! It’s all about teaching them kindness, and what it means to be a good person in this world of loss respect. When they are old enough I will return to school and show them that life can move on and become more of what our full dream is in life. But for now it’s all about them 100% of the time, whatever they need from me I will give and I will give up to make them a part of society that is creative, respectful, inspirational, an all around good functioning person.
cultivating a good life to me means loving Jesus, loving others, being joful in everything, using kind words, and teaching your children to do the same.
every child (and lots of adults) have big dreams, but it takes having some great people around you to build you up and believe in your dream just as much as you are on your journey
Tacoma, WA
One important way to cultivate a good life is not only teaching your kids to be kind and honest but appreciative. Kids today seem to expect everything to be given to them and done for them and often never say thank you. Showing gratitude is important and can say a lot about a person.
Minnesota
Cultivating a good life means experiences of a blessed existence. Being thankful for the life you are given, happy for what you make of it and acknowledging God’s hand in it.
Cultivating a good life…. for me that means making the best, maybe not always the easiest, choices that support my family and help my boys grown into the best men they can be. Working as a team, by my husband’s side. Enjoying every day we are given; recognizing and being thankful for the many blessings in our lives. Being present in the moment. Laugh a lot, at myself and the funny things in our lives.
Thanks for this give-away and all your inspiration, Becky!
Amber is Southern California
Cultivating a good life to me means being content and finding joy in every situation. Finding this joy is a mindset. Am I thankful for what the Lord has blessed me with? Regardless of what those blessings are? In ALL situations? Nothing happens in my life without it first going through His hands. Thanks for the giveaway!
Tara
Central City, NE
Cultivating a good life… doing something you love every day, don’t put off all the good times into the future thinking, we can do such and such when the kids are older, when we have more money, when I get caught up on the laundry, etc. Do what you love now, today. & love the special people in your life every day.
Emily (Toquerville, Utah)
Cultivating a good life these days means leaving the dishes in the sink to color with my little girl, take a walk on the trail with my little boy, or cuddle my 3month old. They are only this little once, the dishes can wait, but my babies can’t.
cultivating a good life simply means enjoying both the good and the bad times. You must be aware of the simple daily life pleasures and take them in as often as possible.
Wow – cultivating a good life. For me, if I can live my life providing the love and nurturing my girls need, ensuring that our family is safe, happy and cared for – that is awesome. But if I can live my life in such a way that others can see me truly and honestly living my faith daily – then I would be cultivating a great life. (now – go see Gnomeo and Juliet – I saw it on Friday with my lil one and it has to be one of the best movies ever – simply adorable and the music brings back lots of memories)
All I ever have to see is the way my children look at our scrapbooks, to know that the time I spend documenting is so very wort it. Thank you so much for simplifying it so that I can finally keep up and document the small things in our life. Very Awesome.
Lindsey
Medford, OR
For me cultivating a good life means loving my God and my family.
It has taken time for me to realize that my children will not have my childhood memories — their reality is so different than when I was growing up. So we’re not reenacting my life — we’re grabbing all of the “now” moments that we can as time flies by all too quickly. I live in northern VA (on a tornado watch today!)
I think cultivating a good life is about (and I am going to use some of your past advice) strengthening the relationship with the people who really mean and add a lot to your life. I believe in spending QUALITY time with the ones you love, and in return you will reap the benefits of the strengthened bond you have created with everyone that means the most to you. It will not only enhance the quality of their life getting to have the best of you, but your life will be enhanced in ways you’ve never imagined…and you will start to see the really beautiful things in life. Because everyone knows it is truly the smaller things in life that matter. <3
Be present everyday. No dwelling on the past and looking to the future – enjoy the here and now. It’s simple thought and one that I am taking to heart.
I live in Dayton Ohio. What I am (always) working on…..documenting my kids’ lives…..so they can see what they looked like, what they liked (and didn’t like) at a particular age, the times they grew up in, how much I loved them. Digital photography has made that so much more doable!
Cultivating a good life to me means appreciating the smallest moments. Every moment (the good and the bad) come together to form the best parts of life. It is my goal to appreciate those moments and not wish them away for something better.
Angie
Logan, UT
I think it’s about going to bed every night thinking, “That was a good day.” Not, “Yay! I got everything done on my list”, but “I love my life and I’m excited to do it all over again tomorrow.”
Tiffani, Meridian,ID
I’ve been learning that at this point in my life, patience for what we have been blessed with and what will come down the road is how I cultivate a good life. And then, most importantly, to show gratitude for those blessings. Life is much less complicated and much happier when those two ar daily practiced.
Hmm. Cultivating a good life means letting the little things go and trying to laugh each day.
Loving those around you and leaving this world better than it was before us.
Cultivating a good life for me is to know what are the things that mean the most to me and to focus on that and not get caught up in what the media is promoting. Spending quality time with my family, laughing and keeping a (fairly) clean and uncluttered home. To be thankful for what we have and to help others.
I am the keeper of happy memories. My kids have volumes of scrapbooks made about them. They love to look them over all the time. This year I am finding a happiness every day and writing about it on my family blog.
Cultivating life, as you and Ali Edwards have helped me see, is in the little normally mundane acts in life or the “little” things. Those are the thingswe are most likely to forget later in life. The “little things” are the spice of life (and most likely to get lost in the memories) and the big things are the dessert. I can see where Project Life would be the perfect way to preserve the preciousness of life.
From Spring Tx
It means being appreciative of what I have and being present in the moment. Lids notice more and more as they get older if you are just half paying attention to them.
It means appreciating every day we are given and sharing how blessed we really are!!
Jenny
Atascadero, Ca
Cultivating a good life is enjoying every moment… and giving to others what you may not receive in return. After all, giving is much more rewarding than receiving.
Angie
Arnold, MO
I own a boudoir business. My goal is to redefine beautiful. You do not need to be a size 6 to be beautiful, every size and everyone is beautiful. I also am working with local marriage therapists to help inspire therelationship again.
For me, cultivating a good life means being there, making memories together, and reflecting on those memories together in a positive way. Thank you so much for a chance to win Project Life today!
Means giving up self and living for others. Being filled with unimaginable love and outrageous joy for all that I have been blessed with.
For my family, cultivating a good life means stepping beyond the legacy of dysfunction handed down from our parents and creating a whole, healthy family. We’ve set a vision for ourselves, and now the challenge is to live it out in the day-to-day.
To me it means being the best wife and mother to my 5 kids and 4 foster kids that I can be, and documenting those memories we are creating together. Doing PL right now, but I would love to do a PL album just for my foster kids too.
May, Utah
Cultivating a good life means to me that you take the ttime out to “smell the flowers”, play with your kids. Laugh with your husband, talk to a nieghbor all at the hands of “not” getting some housework done. I try to live with the no regrets, so would I regret doing that load of laundry over play a good old fashioned game of hide a seek with my 3 and 2 year olds. If something god forbid ever happened maybe. So put down your basket and pick up a game of tag. For that Laundry will still be there is the evening when they are fast asleep!
Michelle
Minnesota!
It means taking everyday and enjoying it, to not worry about the small stuff. LIving for my kiddos, my husband, my family…..making each moment a moment to remember!
Cultivating a good life means living for Jesus and serving others
Cultivating a good life for me right now truly means slowing down and enjoying life with my husband and daughter. I am the kind of person who is constantly thinking of what there is yet to do and can’t seem to sit still long enough to really take in the day to day moments. I have to say that Project Life has really inspired me to take on this concept…I know am watching and documenting my two year old more than ever. I am from Grand Rapids, MI.
The changing point in my life was when we lost our daughter at birth and from that day I have vowed to make sure that my kids have me for as long as God Wills but I also decided it was time to really find a passion so they can look at me as inspiration and so now I love doing photography and running and I hope they see that I love something and am passionate and healthy.
cultivating the good life means to me being kind and loving towards one another whether their your family or friends or coworkers or people you meet on the street, and of course loving god.
At this stage in my life, it means ensuring I teach my children (by word and action) how to make decisions that will make them happy, make those around them happy, and make God happy.
Oh ya, Alberta, Canada
Cultivating a good life…for me is all about priorities. Making God the most important priority and then focusing on my family. It is about letting go of some things during this very busy phase of my life in order to more fully enjoy this precious time with my three preschoolers. Yes, it is crazy at times…but I love my life & wouldn’t trade it for anything!
I nominate my friend Stacia, she puts the “in” in “inspiring” She cultivates a good life by balancing being a fantastic momma, devoted wife, wonderful teacher, & considerate friend!
Grateful for you Becky! Much love from Sebring, FL
Appreciating what you have, helping out where you can, and remembering to say thank you for your blessings.
Manitoba, Canada
Laugh each day and enjoy your family.
Troy, MI
Theresa B.
Cultivating a good life… starts with the FAMILY. Loving and doing what I can to bring happiness into their life. Live in the now! And make the most of every moment.
(Thanks, Becky, for making me stop and think this morning.)
Amber
Loma Linda, CA
“Fear less, hope more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Hate less, love more; And all good things are yours.” Swedish Proverb
This is what cultivating a good life means to me! I have this on a sign in my classroom and try to set an example to all of my students and my own children about what is truly important in life.
I love how my kids like to look at their scrapbooks – fussing when I turn the page b/c they weren’t done with the last page.
Hartwell, Ga
I’d like to nominate my youngest daughter Elisabeth. She is a Christian school teacher and about to be married on June 3rd.
Thanks!
Not taking anything for granted, and everything happens for a reason.. Take what happens and move on and remember to learn from it.
Cultivating a good life…For me, it means living each day to the fullest and creating memories every day, taking care of my family to my best ability, going to bed knowing I was productive, working as a team with my husband, appreciating the small things, giving my daughter the oppurtunity to have many different experiences in her life( i think it makes such a difference in the long run)..Your children are what you make them…if they grow up in a good cultivated life I firmly believe it directly impacts the things they will do and accomplish in the future and shape the person they will become.
Cultivating a good life for me personally right now means to somehow step back & let go of the stresses that have somehow consumed me over the last 3 years. Goal is to get back to documenting all those “little things” & I believe PL is the key!!. — Teresa in CT
We aren’t promised a tomorrow and I can’t help but think should something happen to me or my husband, I want my two young kids to know how much they were loved and from where they came. They’re too young to have formed many, if any, long term memories. I’d love to have Project Life to help me document these years for them. Thanks for the chance. We live in Nashville, TN. Yee-haw, ya’ll!
To me cultivating a good life is having a relationship with Jesus and teaching my children to do the same. He teaches us to submit to others, be humble before God, and to leave the worries of the world behind. I love recording and documenting our life!
It means familiy and teaching my kids the values and morals that are important to me and my husband so that they can grow up to love God with their whole heart, mind, soul and strength.
Cultivating a good life for my family is keeping it simple in everything we do as a family. Your project life helps document those everyday life things that men so much.
Cultivating a good life to me means balance. It’s what I’m working on right now. Between working part-time, raising a 13-year old daughter and a 10-year old son (that each have a sport they love), spending time with a husband I adore, spending time with God, and all the other stuff we busy moms do… I need balance. It’s the key to peace and joy… I can love my family and others more when I have balance than when I feel strung too thin or stressed. Karen, McKinney
Cultivating a good life to me is doing whatever it takes to have a life focused on God and Family, even if it means making less money- doing what we love and having the time together, means everything.
Cultivating a good life is asking God for guidance in EVERY decision. It is acting as if everyone is watching you even when nobody is around. It is thinking of others and the impact your life choices will have on them, whether it is your husband, future children, friends…and making those choices based on what will honor God and help others.
Kristin
Kalamazoo, MI
watching my daughter passsing on little things that i have passed on to her (like the rabbit ear trick on tying your shoes or the sugar bug dance) to her two boys that my mother passed to me and knowing that yes a liitle piece of family will go on.
jackie r
virginia beach va
For me, cultivating a good life means creating a home where me, my family, our friends, and anyone else can feel comfortable. It is making the best of every situation no matter what it is. It is helping and serving others. I would love to win a PL book. I bought one of the old style last year during your black friday sale… and I LOVE it! I can’t afford to buy one right now, but I would love to put together a scrapbook for my brothers mission! With PL, he can add whatever quotes, and captions he would like to the pictures!!
Thank you so much for all of your inspiration!
Katy
Simi Valley, CA
Cultivating a good life to me, means teaching our children well. Teaching them empathy, spirituality, tolerance, love and the value of a dollar. That imagination is more valuable than technology.
Erin
Springville, PA
I just try to take in every moment because they are going too quickly. I don’t want to miss a second of this life God has blessed me with and recording it is a great way to do that.
Tiffany
Springfield MO
My daughter just got accepted to a college 12 hours away. 824 miles away. in a different country even (canada) So for me…I have 6 months to cherish every last day with her til we pack her up and drop her off. I promise to try to make every day count.
Even though I have 5 kids in the house and one is a teen who dislikes justin Bieber it doesn’t look like a bad movie. Probably will skip that one though
Cultivating a good life is raising my children to be happy and productive members of our society. I have special needs kids as well and this is especially important. Having our lives filled with God, good morals and being grateful for our blessings is equally important.
Cultivating a good life to me right now means leaving my children with a legacy. Leaving them with memories most of all – good memories and knowing that you can make it through anything if you stick together. Stephanie in SC
Cultivating a good life is all about priorities…
I would love for my friend in Peoria, AZ to win a Project Life. Her name is Kate, she has two young boys and a husband in medical school! She is such a present mother and wife, and I think this product is right up her alley!!
I nominate my older sister LaRae who lives in Washington state. She is the fabulous mother of six children. I’ve told her all about PL and know she would truly love and appreciate it. It’s time for some good luck to come her way!!
Cultivating a good life…putting aside the daily requirements to stop and play a game, realizing that life doesn’t stop over a messy playroom, getting involved instead of watching from the sidelines, and taking time to stop and watch cartoons and feel like a kid again.
Living the good life in Texas, btw, where Spring has arrived (and I hope it’ll hang around for awhile).
Project Life has done something great for my soul. It forces me be PRESENT in my life. Which in turn, makes me feel blessed, even when documenting the not-so-good parts of life. So far this year, I’ve spent weeks in a hospital w/ my mom after major surgery and capturing photos of funny things the fam and I did in the hospital to make the heavy burden lighter made me appreciate my family’s ability to find laughs ANYWHERE and find God even in pain and uncertainty (thanks Mom!). Then, Fri night I had a basement full of 14-15 year olds who we then entertained for the entire (!)day. I am dually employed–in the home and outside of it as well. So I was TIRED and not looking forward to Fri and the noise was killing me…but then when I’m taking the pics, I’m thinking…this is the last year my twins will be chaperoned around w/ their buddies. Next year…they’ll be driving. And what a blessing that their friends LIKE to be who they are in our home and we are the gathering place for these men-in-the-making. Good stuff! Tx Becky for getting me focused on being in the moment thru PL!
Right now, cultivating a good life is what I want to do for my kids. They are still pretty young, but it feels good to allow and support my 2 year old in you imaginative play and to give her space to be her own little person. I had very very young parents, I am so glad that I waited to have kids so that I can nurture their goals and dreams.
Cultivating a good life for me is to be the best wife and mom and daughter of Christ I can. I want my family to know and remember that I was someone who loved Jesus and had a great personal relationship with Him and never let anything stand in the way.
have a blessed week Becky!
~Christine
Fall City, WA
Cultivating a good life means doing those things that bring me and my family closer to our Heavenly Father. It means doing less of what I want and more of what we (our family) wants. It means pushing outside my comfort zone to grow. And most importantly, it means family!
Lisa
Pampa, TX
I’m trying to cultivate a good life by rearranging priorities and figuring out just the right amount of work/life balance. Trying not only to spend time with my little family, but to be PRESENT with them as well.
-valerie
Marysville, OH
Cultivating a good life for me right now means teaching being a part of my children’s faith formation and watching them grown into their own selves as they get older.
Tracy, Harwich, MA
Cultivating a good life to me is doing the best we can do every day, balance is very important to being happy, enjoying time together, realizing that every relationship is special. Finding ways to connect with friends/family who are long distance. Cherishing every moment as we have had 7 family members die in the last 7 months. We may not be physically close to them but we can find ways to cherish memories and cultivate it into a good life.
Skye – Las Vegas, NV
Cultivating a good life is to live each and every day as if were the last. To know you did your best by your family, your spouse, children and anyone else is the world whom you may have influenced in one way or another. To enjoy all of our surroundings, people, places, and LIFE without any regrets! TO BE HAPPY!
I live in Parker, CO
Cultivating a good life, to me, means being present in the moment, making a difference in this world, loving with my whole heart, living with no regrets, giving my kids an amazing childhood, and making the best use out of everyday that I am on this earth.
Jen Hurley (Glen Carbon, IL)
Cultivating a good life right now means that I am saying yes instead of no. The results have been extraordinary. I have played a lot more Wii, basketball, legos, Harry potter, board games, had late nights, and even had hot dogs for dinner but there is an extra bit of happiness going around our home.
Utah
being active and deliberate in your own life – creating that life around and within …..
gilbertarizona
I nominate my sister who lives in Boise, ID. She is a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, and an elementary school counselor. She does it all, and she is great at what she does. She makes the best out of any situation and she is so much fun to be around. She is so busy that she rarely has time to scrapbook anymore and I know that Project Life would be a great solution for her.
Cultivating a good life means actually living the life instead of spending all of your time documenting it. That’s why Project Life is so amazing. Get in. Get out. You’re done. Back to living the good life.
Cultivating a good life is about appreciating the little things we are blessed with daily, especially the chance for change. Small changes can eventually turn into life altering moments. We try to take time to reflect on each decision we make as a family and recognize how, even though at the time it might seem small, in the long run it can greatly effect our growth as individuals and our bond as a family. It has really effected how we view life and the choices we are blessed with. Nothing in this world is small so don’t take anything for granted.
American Fork, UT
I am working on priorities a lot right now. Why? Because I find myself on the internet at nap time instead of working on my project life or housekeeping or sewing. I’m going to look back at this time and wonder what the heck I did with my life! I would nominate several of my good friends for a project life. I love mine (and already bought one for my sister). Thank you so much for an awesome product! Austin, TX
I tear up too at the great messages in the form of simple things. Last week it was the movie Despicable Me.
I want to cultivate character in my children. It’s not something they are born with and it’s something that needs to be taught. Truthfullness. Kindness. Responsibility. Generosity. Around here it starts small by stopping hurtful words and reframing them for my kids. Or pointing out when someone is being courteous. Or taking the time to tell a 2 and 3 year old that it’s special that their 8 year old brother just spent his Bible bucks on their Sunday treat. 
Cultivating a good life for me has changed over the past year after losing my dad.Now I look at things differently,and want to remember everything,even the small things.Each day,I teach my four boys(and remind myself) about what is truly important in life..love,family,faith,perserverance,courage,strength,compassion,kindness and acceptance.WE are not perfect ,but we should always give our best in all that we do.I am proud of my children and their accomplishments,especially my one son who has autism.Having no language skills,just learning to communicate has been something to be proud of and well worth documenting.Striving to do our best is a wonderful thing,and being able to document it all is even better.Thanks for creating PL,and giving us an opportunity to document it all.
Cultivating a good life means that I have to prioritize what’s truly important in life and spend time doing those. Of course, my top priority is cultivating my relationship with God, my husband and my kids. My second priority is documenting our lives, and that’s where scrapbooking and Project Life comes in.
Mickee
American Canyon, CA
“Cultivating a good life” to me means doing my best to redeem the time that my personal Saviour has given me on this earth.
WOW..Amazing Post.
Cultivating good life for me is keep learning lessons from your life experiences, keep getting back on the band wagon and wish good for everyone despite all the challenges of life. My current MOTTO of life is Live in the Moment and Do Not Judge anyone.
Thanks for the wonderful give away.
Banu (Flower Mound, TX)
I forgot to write where I live. Oops!
Ripon, Ca
Cultivating a good life to me means cherishing the moments, living in the present, making good memories together and, as a mom of four little ones, choosing my battles carefully! Thanks so much!
Shelley in Alberta, Canada
Cultivating a good life -to me- is instilling in our children values and morals while showing them that happiness comes from within…not from the latest, greatest toy, book, song, etc. And, altho’ I already own both of your project life versions, I would REALLY like to win one for my dear friend Marcy. (She’s been drooling over mine but I just haven’t been able to buy one for her yet…:-)
Judy – MN
Cultivating a good life for me is not about my own happiness so much as ensuring that the world I live in is a better place for those that will come after me. That will be my fifteen minutes of fame.
After raising 4 homeschooled children and watching them grow into young adults, I’ve realized I’ll never catch up with my “traditional” scrapbooking. We live on a hobby farm: milking goats, bottle-feeding babies, gathering eggs, raising a milk calf… Our life is full and BLESSED! I’ve realized that you can never have too many Project Life kits. I’m working on three right now – present day, heritage, and my twins’ first years (they’re 22 now) It is so fulfilling and encouraging to know that I will get caught up and be able to leave a lifetime of memories behind me!
All my scrapbooks have been the pretty pictures, the happy times. But the other stuff makes us the family we’ve become, too. So this scrapbook has the sad stuff (my son’s floating fish), the routines (chores, laundry), visitors (spend the nights) and of course all the happy stuff too.
“Culitvating a good life” for me right now is stepping back from teh everyday life and trying to experience life a ittle more through the childrens’ eyes! We get so wrapped up in our rush rush busy busy days and forget what we even went through before we go to sleep.
Cultivating a good life= a lot about attitude and finding joy in the little things. It is about truly loving others. When you love, you love deeply and don’t hold back. Its deep friendship as well as being in love with my husband. It’s teaching my kids things like love and manners and respect and joy, and being consistent about discipline so they understand boundaries. It’s choosing to be a mommy when it would be easier to just be their friend. It’s teaching them the important things like faith in God and care for each other.
I think when we have all of these things… teaching, loving sharing with each other, we can build a foundation for a good life. So even when we have tough times, we have each other and a deep love and respect for each other… we can cling to each other and be able to work through anything that we are facing.
I love documenting life too in pictures, blogs, journals, etc. We can always look back at memories and either remember them with joy, or thankfully notice that they are past.
I’m Amy.. and I live in Rosemead, California
Cultivating a good life is taking every opportunity to do something, and making sure that whatever opportunity that I’m blessed to have, doesn’t go to waste: doing everything wholeheartedly, 100% of the time. I don’t have tons of money, or tons of the latest fashions, but i have two beautiful children and a loving husband. That’s nothing short of a fantastic life!
Cultivating a good life is making family our top priority.
Cultivating a good life, to me, means recognizing and celebrating what is wonderful about right now and looking forward to all of the wonderful things to come! It is about making sure that we don’t overlook the small things and that we aren’t wrapped up in what other people think, say or do. It is a journey of self discovery. It’s about knowing what is MOST important and making sure that we focus on that and making sure those you love feel that love every time you can!
Janene (New Kensington, PA)
Cultivating a good life…….Right now I am reading Andy Andrews, The Traveler’s Gift. It is so amazing! So right now for me, cultivating a good life is having perspective……being a good person. Loving each minute I am given….and remembering that the future is in my hands….choices are mine to make!!!
Being happy, sharing, laughing, and loving – together!
Cultivating a good life…recognizing that the season of life I am in right now is a blessing, not a burden.
Cultivating a good life to me is being happy with the present, thankful for all the blessings I have and creating memories for my family. Loudoun, VA
I know this sounds cheesy, but my idea of cultivating a good life is to love and laugh. I heard this phrase once and it has stuck with me…love the life you life and live the life you love. I’ve come to realize more and more that life is all about the small things. Like taking our old crusty bread and going to feed the ducks at the pond on Saturday. My daughter had a blast and it was such a small and simple thing but brought us both so much joy and happiness. There was definitely a lot of love and laughter going on. Thank you for being so generous and sharing your love for life with others. I live in Allen, TX.
Cultivating a good life means making sure to spend time on the important things like family.
Becky, As a ‘singleton’ what suggestions do you have for making the most out of your Project Life Kit? I like the idea of documenting, but I feel Project Life is most beneficial for families. Maybe you can post on other ways to use the kit if you don’t have many people in your life. Thanks
*I just ready my post after I submitted it and got the quote all wrong. It should say love the life you LIVE (not life), live the life you love.
Cultivating a good life means remembering to spend time with my family rather than geting caught up with my to do list.
Jill D.
Edmonds, WA
Cultivating a good life …
in the midst and chaos of being home with a 1.5 and a 2.5 year old … where I just want to get through the day and have a bit of time to myself … I remember how and then and I remind myself that this is THEIR childhood now. They are now experiencing the childhood that I look back on and remember. I need to remember that the focus isn’t on me anymore (as you feel when you are a child) but on them and their wonderful growing up years and memories.
I want them to remember and I want to help them to remember with all the days I document our life.
Cass
Sask, Canada
“Cultivating a Good Life” ~
It means to me…. just living each day one step at a time. Taking in all the moments, making memories, learning from life. When LIFE gives you a bowl full of LEMONS, make LEMONADE.
Every day is a memory to document, look around you – find the good in everything. It is out there.
Cultivating a good life is giving everyone in the family their time to shine. To applaud their strengths and nuture along their challenges with love and support.
Being a military family, cultivating a good life means loving one another and being thankful for & savoring our time together. This is espcially important because while he’s deployed or underway, we miss being a complete family. Through our daily photo blog (myself), written journal (7yo son), and art journal (4yo daughter) we are able to share our daily lives apart. Years later we will be able to look back at our family dynamic during deployments and military life.
Cultivating a good life means being intentional. For me it is setting both short and long term goals. Some are as simple a cherish the moments and others involve the hard work of building a business. It’s having the big picture in front of me and enjoying the journey. Naomi in PA
At this very moment, cultivating a good life means taking a calculated risk after doing the right research. Sometimes it’s easy and comfortable to stay right where you are. But sometimes you need to take a leap to get to something even better. Can you tell that we have some big choices to make in the very near future?
Without being hokey . . . I want to be a loving wife and mama. If I don’t get that right . . . nothing else really matters. I like my house to be cleanish, my meals to be healthy and to volunteer in my community but really those all come waaaaaay after my family.
Cultivating a good life to me is adventures with my little family and recording all the memories from those adventures. Leading by example for my girls and hoping that they will grow into strong, independent, family oriented, God loving, women.
Liverpool, NY (Central New York area)
I am working toward a simpler life; I am working toward making our first year of homeschooling (two 7th graders) awesome; I am working toward growing spiritually; I am working toward moving more with a 500-mile run, walk, swim challenge with my boys and my husband (hubby took the lead this morning).
Cultivating a good life means seeking balance and God’s will in our lives.
Cultivating a good life means slowing down and noticing the moments. Celebrating the little things. Remembering how happy-making gratitude can be. Making time for what’s important and not worrying about what isn’t.
Sarah in Winchester, UK
Cultivating a good life to me means providing my kids with choices that will help them have as many opportunities to pick from as possible when they are older…..
It means providing memories and traditions that my kids will always remember and possibly want to recreate with their families someday……
It means having all the scrapbooks to drag out and look at as a family and play the remember when this happened? game…….
As I get older, I realize that life is not about the material things – but the memories we create in our lifetime…and as I get older, I start to forget the little things that make life special. I love the idea of Project Life and not just documenting special events, but the everyday that makes up our lives; because our lives are not made up solely of special events.
Thanks!
~alicia
proof-of-love.blogspot.com
Albuquerque, New Mexico
For me, cultivating a good life means not only living every day to the fullest here and now, but preparing myself, my family and others for the life that is to come. Our lives are oh so short, but we are eternal beings and this is only the beginning. So, I am trying a little every day to “store up treasures in heaven.” I live in Southeastern Washington state.
It means to me being in the moment. Being present for the little things, the everyday things, making family memories and knowing that kids grow up too fast. Cherishing every moment of their precious lives.
Melanie
Calgary, AB Canada
For me cultivating a good life is living in the moments not just the big events. The moments seem to be where the most lasting joy is found.
Oops forgot to tell you I’m from Phoenix, AZ!
Cultivating a Good Life – for me that means being truly present in each and every moment, the good and the bad. Learning and growing from each experience and trying to be as authentic a person as possible and a role model to my kiddos, both at home and in the classroom
Right now I am focusing on raising my two teens as loving, caring young people–a tough job nowadays but it’ll be worth it.
Cultivating a good life means that I spend as much time with my Family and Friends and making that time memorabilia. Living life with no regrets. And having as much laughter in my life as I can. It is important to live life to its fullest!
I am going to nominate a friend. Natalie, a dear friend of mine, has a little boy with is living with a disease called Menkes. Many children die at an early age since there is currently no cure. Her baby, Cannon, will be turning one years old tomorrow, March 1st. With everything she has, she is trying to make his birthday one to remember. She is really working towards and wants her two older children to remember Cannon and how special he truly is – our special they all are, for Heavenly Father sent Cannon to them and only them!! Project Life would give her a way to remember, document and cherish Cannon’s life. It would be a special way for her to share experiences and memories of Cannon with her older children. It would be something she would truly cherish!!
Sincerely,
Kerry
Las Vegas, NV
A good life is to enjoy the moment and the people in that moment
I think for me cultivating a good life is being the best parent I can right now and taking the opportunity to stop and enjoy my children at EVERY stage–because they grow too fast (also capturing EVERY stage in photos and writing has become a high priority for me because it brings me such joy to look back on those precious moments).
Thanks for this great giveaway. You are so kind!
Ondrea
Wittmann AZ
Cultivating a good life, hmm, I think it’s family!!! Being thankful for each person in your life. Treating them special and enjoying what each one brings to your life. So glad you’re back, missed your posts!!!
Cultivating a good life means spending quality time with people and training my children up to be the people God has called them to be. I will always encourage people to follow their dreams. I always say, “Why not you?”
We have had a rough year and I was finding myself getting really down. It was rubbing off on my family too. I had a serious wake-up call. My kids are only this age once. What do I want them to remember…a rough year or living life everyday in the everyday…with laughter, love and memories. One thing I have learned this year (more than once) is that life is precious and we never know how long we have with those we love.
Forgot to put where I live…Valencia, CA
I’ve heard that movie is good in so many ways.
The part of cultivating a good life that I am working on right now is to relinquish my unhealthy dependance on food and get my excess weight off. I see more and more that I need to treat my body as it is – God’s holy temple.
Annie in Cheyenne Wyoming
Cultivating a good life to me means I focus my life on those I love and doing the things that really matter and bring joy into our life. I also surround myself with people who are positive, motivating and share the same values. I have a very good life! (Agoura Hills, CA)
Six months ago I left a very stressful (although very profitable) job to say at home with my 10 year old daughter for the first time in her life. We are cultivating our best life every day bit by bit. Leaving my job required sacrifices, but the pay off is so much more and I don’t regret it one bit! Thanks for the chance at an awesome kit.
For me cultivating a good life means living in the moment. I have 2 boys, one is 15 & the other will be 13 in 9 days………..emotions change by the moment around here with all the “teen” drama. So I cherish the good warm fuzzy moments & realize the bad moments will most like be gone in “a moment”. Believe it or not, time is flying faster now than when they were babies!!!!
I recently read an article about perfection and how it can truly hold you back from your potential. Therefore cultivating a good life is just living life to the fullest. You may fall down and fail but as long as you know you got back up and tried again, then you can live a very happy and fulfilling life. Life is about enjoying life. That is what I am going to teach my little girl Addison so that she can have the best cultivating life!
A good life is one of gratitude. I work on that every day.
–jessica from Portland, OR
To me….cultivating a good life means being happy where ever you are. Being able to see the good in whatever you are doing, where ever you are living, however difficult your struggles are. Finding the good and seeing the happy, now that is cultivating a good life. It’s especially good when your kids learn this skill…. pass on the happy life!
Cultivating a good life to means finding joy in all aspects of life and sharing large and small moments with family! If I won I would give the PL to a dear friend of mine who just had her first baby and is suffering from unknown seizures. Even with all the unknown and uncertainty she continues to be a Godly inspiration.
~Jenn
CA
Cultivating a good life is spending quality time with my family and friends. Creating memories.
Living a good life means cherishing every moment … remembering that these days with our loved ones are fleeting and golden. My parents are 86 and 75 and my daughters are 14 and 11, so I am seeing changes all around me. I like to scrapbook and take photos to try to capture our lives. I did realize in the last year though that I mostly document events like birthdays, trips, holidays … not just everyday life. Now I am making a conscious effort to celebrate the every day.
Lewis Center, OH
I have the rare opportunity to be staying with my grandma right now, helping her recover from a heart attack. I am realizing more and more every day how much I don’t know about her or about my dad (her son) when he was growing up! I’m cherishing this time with her.. the sweet visit and the storytelling. Sure, it’s important to know where we came from – names, dates, etc, but the good stuff, the meaningful stuff is in the stories and getting to know family members, whether they’re living or being remembered through another family member’s stories.
Cultivating a good life is touching people with your prayers, love, support and time….and you will be blest in return.
Cultivating a good life is remembering to enjoy each moment with my family. Sometimes I forget during all the crazy, busy moments of life. They grow up way to fast.
i am working on patience. patience for my kids, my life, my everything. I want to slow down, and just take it all in without getting my underwear in a bundle each time (easiest way to put it;) ShellyJ in Medina, OH
Teaching my kids and also learning with them how to give, be respectful and live life with purpose. I am new to PL this year and I think it is simply amazing. It has prompted more time together as family…to make sure I get my POTD! I am already looking back and am very pleased with my weeks so far. And since it’s laying out, my kids and husband look at it all the time too.
I would love another kit!!
Shanna
Moore, OK
Cultivating a good life for me is spending as much quality time as I can with my family and being thankful for the good health that my children enjoyed growing up. Now, that I am a grandmother, one of my granddaughters has juvenile arthritis and how I wish I could take her pain away. We never know what the next minute will bring. But as I get older, I try to enjoy my life and the blessings I have received. Life really is precious. Living in beautiful Colorado and all that sunshine really helps to cultivate a good life.
Cultivating a good life for me is trying to model a Christ like spirit in all that I do. And that is so not easy all the time. But it pays off so much when my son’s Sunday School teacher tells me that our son is being a great role model in his class. To God be the glory!
Thanks for the opportunity to win Project Life in Keller, TX!
I saw NSN with my 7 year old daughter this weekend, and loved it… it’s a very positive and inspirational movie! To me, cultivating a good life means providing a variety of experiences in life for my children to learn from and build character – everthing from participation on sports to traveling to new places.
<3
Stacey
Peoria, AZ
For me, cultivating a good life is always trying to be a little better than I was yesterday.
Thanks for doing this giveaway!
Eugene, Oregon
My only daughter got a promotion and is moving to Dallas (she leaves tomorrow). We had a small going away party for her over the weekend, and I brought my Project Life from 2010 and 2011 to the party. She’s been living with us the last 10 months and I’m so glad that I have that time documented in Project Life. Without it I NEVER would have been able to “tell the story” of this special time we’ve had with her and her cat. Everyone LOVED Project Life. And my daughter is looking forward to this new chapter in her life. Thank you so much for your inspiration and talent.
Being grateful everyday is the goodlife.
Rebecca
Boise ID
“Cultivating a good life” means to me personally:
Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Psalm 37:3.
Through prayer to God, reading my Bible daily, attending church on Sunday and staying accountable through the Ladies in my Bible study class.
Cultivating a good life means loving my children and teaching them to be good, decent people. If I can give my daughter a good foundation so that she can grow to be a person who can stand on her own and if I can give my autistic son the ability to mostly care for himself, I will have cultivated a good life.
Carrie
Grand Rapids, MI
I’m trying to figure out what cultivating a good life means for me right now! So, I’ll answer the question about something you are doing – I am learning to sew! Last night I made my first tag blankie for my 8 mth old baby girl!
It’s become extremely important for me to capture our family memories for my daughter and I’m using Project Life to do that for the first time this year. I’ve recently scanned all of my mom’s old photos and would love another kit to use in order to document my memories to pass on to my daughter one day. Love, love, love PL!!!
Oh, and we’re in Las Vegas, thanks to the US Air Force.
Cultivating a good life by surrounding myself with good friends and most importantly family…
I am looking forward to living with my husband for the first time. (military..need I say more!)
“Cultivating a good life” to me means walking the in the light of our Lord. If we try that and look to Him in all that we do, life is always good, even when it’s hard.
Kelley
Bartlett, TN
Cultivating a good life means focusing on what I do have rather than what I don’t, focusing more on people and less on things, focusing on little joys everyday instead of waiting for the one elusive moment of happiness perfection. I’m still working on it, but I think I’m on the right track.
Cultivating a good life means quailty time with my family and if I am lucky I get to catch some of in pictures!
Oh..BTW… Gnomeo & Juliet wasn’t on my list to see either…but it really was a cute movie! The next one my daughter and I see will be Beiber Fever! (although neither of us are big fans..heard the movie is a good one!)
Resting daily in the peace of God.
I am learning to be a better person… all the way around!
Cultivating a good life means being the best mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend I can possibly be.
Thanks for all you do, Becky.
~Carla
Raleigh, NC
These days you hear a lot about the ‘hardships of military families.’ It can be difficult to ‘cultivate a good life’ when you don’t know if this weekend your loved one will be home, if you’ll be living in the same house next year or how world events may change your daily life. You live intentionally and make every moment you can count! It’s a blessing to be able to document the now, the good and the bad, so when you are able to gather together you can appreciate these moments that are your life.
Angi, CO
For me, cultivating a good life means finding ways to make the ‘normal days’ special for my family and remembering to enjoy it all (even when it isn’t so enjoyable!).
Fargo, ND
Cultivating good life means living a good life, with the people you love and making sure your kids get the best experiences and creating good memories with them.
Living a good life means being present every day with my family no matter what is going on inside my mind (stress or illness or the like) or in the rest of the world. I want to be present and accounted for and that my family remember that. Lalia Everett, WA
Cultivate a good life – love the simplified idea of documenting what is going on in our lives at the time and place we are at. Sharing that with others. Sharing that with kids. Passing on our lives to learn from and grow. Thanks for the opportunity to get a free kit – I will pass on to one of my good friends if I win because there are so many cool things that can happen as a result of our lives being recorded. Shauna in Alberta, Canada
It means living each day to the fullest and remembering my children spell Love…T.i.m.e.! And hoping years from now when they look at my scrapbooks they will see that I always took time for them!
a favorite quote, about where we live everyday, kind of sums up what cultivating a good life means to me – “you and i don’t live in a series of big dramatic moments. we don’t careen from big decision to big decision. we all live in an endless series of little moments. the character of a life isn’t set in ten big moments. the character of a life is set in ten thousand little moments of everyday life.” so a good life (even in the midst of the times that don’t feel necessarily good) is about knowing that those moments count, making them count – and recording and documenting them (in project life, o’ course!) as important threads in the overall tapestries that make up our stories.
Kirby Hall, St. Louis MO
Cultivating a good life for me right now is spending time raising and homeschooling my children. It is not always a “dreamy” task but they are only in my home for this short season. Through it all, I hope to instill in them both character & knowledge while still giving them plenty of freedom to fail….sometimes we learn the most from our failures.
Cultivating a good life…keeping our family grounded, to see good in all, thankful and appreciative for their family and friends and reminding my college sorority girls that what they are going through right now is preparing them for life! Inspite of the drama they are experiencing in an all girl environment! Rise above and cultivate that good life:)
oops..I’m from Lake Havasu, AZ
Cultivating a good life means…doing what God is directing us to do, living a Christ filled life. Spending time with my wonderful kids and family, appreciating the little things and beauty of everyday life.
Cultivating the good life for me is living my life with my kids not for my kids and capturing those moments we spend together with one another.
I have learned lately to live with no regrets! Life circumstances can change so quickly. I don’t want to regret something I did or did not do. –Marne, Meridian, ID
Just trying REALLY hard to wake up and be a better person than I was yesterday – this is often a struggle, as patience is not one of my virtues.
Lisa in CA
I’d like to nominate my friend Monica. She’s young (22-years old) and just starting out in her career as a hair stylist (which she is crazy good at), so there’s always a struggle to pay the bills every month. And yet, she is one of the most infectiously cheerful people I know. No matter how bad her money struggles get, Monica is relentlessly upbeat and thinking of other people.
She loves to scrapbook, but doesn’t have the money to do it. So, I bought her last year’s Project Life kit and encouraged her to try doing a Picture a Day. She has been doing it every day and she LOVES it! She keeps texting me how much fun she is having taking pictures every day and putting them in the album.
I know she would love to have one of the new kits to continue documenting her life, but she can’t afford one. It would be super awesome to win one for her. An the gift would be more appreciated than you know!
Thanks for these great kits, Becky! By making the POTD concept so easy to manage, you’ve helped me document my life in a whole new way — and it’s been an incredibly fun journey!
-Michelle
Santa Clarita, CA
Cultivating a good life for us means focusing more on experiences than material things. It’s about going on adventures (big and small) and recording them with our camera, blog, PL scrapbook, iPhones, etc. We don’t have a lot of money, but what we have we spend on family experiences. Our daughter is already well traveled and has a true sense of where she lives— even though she is only 4. We enjoy our time together– talking, laughing, learning and that’s what it’s all about!
Cultivating a good life for me is seeing the beauty in every day big or little. This may be a mess your kids made or stepping into a difficult situation and making it better. It is helping others and looking for the positive instead of the negative.
Kathy
Marion, AR
I want to nominate John and Sherry Petersik of “Young House Love” the blog. I don’t even know them but I think they would really like it. And I know it sounds weird, but I would like to give them one.
Cultivating a good life for me is looking back at pictures and journal entries and seeing where my family was and where we are now. It’s enjoying the past, loving the present, and desiring the future. I thrive on watching us grow spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically on this journey called LIFE! Thanks for your generosity!
Lindsay
Lancaster, PA
I am working on catching up on my kid’s scrapbooks. I got a great start this weekend and finsihed 12 pages!
Cultivating a good life. Trying to be a good person in this game called life. Not always an easy life but mine/ours just the same. Love my teenagers with all my heart even though there are those times…. I bought Project Life last year and I love it. Would love one for this year and free is even better. Thanks for the oppotunity.
I was just posting about this to someone on Facebook, in response to this blog post by Re-educate:http://stevemiranda.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/dont-tell-me-what-youre-passionate-about/ Ironically, it’s called “Don’t tell me what you’re passionate about” because the point is that what you DO with your life when you’re not responsible for doing other things (like work, for most of us) is what you are REALLY passionate about!
I spend a lot of time reading about and studying and promoting new ways to develop and provide education in our culture that is really outside the box BUT really works to create the kinds of kids and future for America that we SAY we want. That doesn’t mean “high test scores” – it means connected, engaged, caring, comptent kids who care about their communities, want to make a difference in the world, develop the skills to pursue their passions because they’re passionate about them, not just to “get an A” and ways that we can truly support ALL kids to be the best they can be, not just “go to college” or “get good grades.” That, to me, is REALLY caring about kids’ education. So that’s what I’m passionate about, and hope to be even more involved in as I figure out how to do that and still provide for my family as a single mom.
Maybe I should start scrapbooking about it – since that is another huge passion for me.
To me cultivating a good life is to do what you do, whatever it is, to the best of your ability, and toenjoy the journey.
To me it is just being the best mom i can be and giving my kids a better childhood than i had, also hoping they realize and know how much i love them and documenting their life so one day maybe they will understand.
Windsor, Ontario Canada
Cultivating a good life right now means establishing better, stronger relationships with my four children. The quote you posted last week about “the purpose of the task is to strengthen the relationship” really hit home to both myself and my husband. He surprisingly wanted me to print it out for him to put on his desk at work! I would love to work with Project Life in documenting our lives. Thanks for the chance!
Danielle
Stevenson Ranch, CA
I think cultivating a good life means to work daily on a good life. We are not perfect people but that each day we strive to be BETTER. BETTER as in taking the time to listen,watch and play with our children, husband and others who are important in our lives. Then go and document it so we don’t forget it.
Arlington, Tx
Cultivating a good life for me is being in the moment, living that minute to it’s fullest. I’m a list maker, project doer, kind of girl which keeps me looking forward. I so want to live in the moment and drink in everything it has for me, good or bad. At the end, I want the people I love to be able to say she was here and attentive to me!
Thanks for the chance to win,
J Allen
Frederick, OK
Hi Becky,
Cultivating a good life for me means making the most of each day and living life with gratitude for all the the Lord has blessed me with. Serving others and being a Godly example to my beautiful girls. leaving everything out so there so, there are no regrets. One thing I am working torwards right now is my Ged. I’m 34 years old. I had ran away from home when I was 14 and dropped out of highschool in the 9th grade. I married my husband when I was 18 and we started a family. I’ve been a stay at home mom and now that my youngest is in 1st grade Im ready to pursue my goal in social work to help teens just like I was. Thank you for letting me share my story with you.
Georgia,
Oklahoma
I saw that with my sisters all in their 20s and our youngest sister who is 16 – the reason we watched it – and all of us older sisters were CRYING the whole movie, we did not expect it. We were going with our sister who is often around adults, to show that we can be silly teenagers too. We all dressed up like the Biebs with hoodies and hats to get into it. I think a good life is making those around you feel good about themselves and in return you feel good (and even like a silly girl)
Jennifer
Houston, TX
“Cultivate a Good Life and Record it” -
I get emotional looking back on photos of my kids when they were younger.
My heart fills with gratitude for them, for my life and the lessons they teach me. I love photograhy
for this very reason!
Thank you for this opportunity. Your blog inspires me to be better!
Stacie- Cottonwood Heights, UT
Family, spending time with each other, and knowing that my kids are happy.
Cultivating a good life is, no matter how hard life gets you down, is to have faith in God, love your family and friends, and treat others with the love and respect that you would want for yourself and your family.I am forever thankful for my 4 beautiful kids (one with autism) and my husband, who are the light in my life and my favorite subjects for my passion of photography. I try to remember that everyone has their own crosses to bear and that no matter how hard my life might get, I should always try to touch everyone in a positive way even if to only make them smile for a moment while I take their portrait.
Cultivating a good life means getting to know my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ better!
And btw, my husband and my best friend’s husband took all of our BOYS, ages 8 and 6 to see Justin Bieber. Totally my husband’s idea! They loved the message of the movie, too!
Thanks Becky!
Amber F.
Roseville CA
Amber
Beaver, UT
Cultivating the good life: In the everyday chaos of life with three boys, absorbing the essence of being a mother, wife, teacher, student, daughter, leader, photographer, designer and storyteller. What a joy it is the live life. Documenting it is a way of saying thank you to my family for living it with me.
For me right now, cultivating a good life means loving, teaching and inspiring my children to be the Children of God that they are and recording those precious childhood moments while we do so.
Scott AFB, IL
Cultivating the good life for me is striving to be the happy, caring, positive person I can be and learning to appreciate all that have. All of that done to be an example for my kids.
Mary in Kingwood, TX
First of all…oh my gosh! Thank you for such a nice opportunity! How will you EVER choose?!?!?
To me, cultivating a good life is to recognize that life is good and praiseworthy. Period. From this comes gratitude, respect for self and other, spirituality, relationships, ambition, and love. And, not so coincidentally, the reasons for recording this life are the same.
Teri
Lethbridge, Alberta Canada
What I am trying to cultivate in my life is to learn to live each day with gratitude for my life, my family , my friends and my community.. I often get so “busy” that I don’t always appreciate to the fullest what is right in front of me. When I am grateful, I tend to have a great attitude. (great +attitude= gratitude).
Elk Grove Village, IL
Cultivating the good life begins with devoting our days to our amazing God. He is so good!
Benton, KY
Thanks for a chance to win a project life kit! Yeah!
My answer is going to sound like the rest, must be a good one.
But to cultivate a good life for my family means that I do my best to be a good mom, wife and friend (and all the other roles I play) and raise my boys into Godly men.
April, KY
Cultivating a good life to me means knowing my priorities and sticking to them. At this stage in my life that is God, my husband, my kids. They, in that order, need to take precedence (sp?) over everything. When I let the other stuff fall away from top priority it creates space in my life where I can breathe, be creative, cherish my priorities. If I don’t have a sense of priority than everything begins clamoring for space and attention, it’s in those times I feel overwhelmed and I don’t care about capturing the “story”. When my priorities are where they are suppose to be; that is cultivating a good life.
Stacey
Lincoln, NE
Cultivating a good life means spending time with my family and prioritizing my time.
Amy
Madison, WI
cultivating a good life: do good work, get rest, eat better, practice a hobby, find some people to love.
p.s. i’m dying to see that justin beiber movie but i have no children but my sixth month old son to take with me. i’m still considering sneaking him in.
Enjoying every moment with my two beautiful daughters and doing my best to create wonderful memories for them.
Cultivating a good life to me is to enjoy every minute with my little ones at home and also capturing that with my camera. I know they’ll appreciate it when they grown up that they have all these memories to look and read about!
Karen in Walnut Creek, CA
Right now I have projects galore happening, trying to print pictures for new frames and hanging them up, also tackling my stack of to do lists in my scrapbook room.
Cultivating the good life for me is to love God and share it with others. Thank you for giveaway!
I have just entered year 3 in a non winable battle with breast cancer. My life for the past 2 years especially has been about showing my two children (age 4 and 8) that it is not about counting the days that are left, but about accepting the beauty and joy in the ordinary. It is about celebrating the little things which make the big things just that little bit sweeter. It is about creating a legacy of hope, prosperity and gratitude for what you have been given, what you have been chosen to do and what you can still achieve no matter what life throws at you. NSW, Australia
Preferring others over myself…
Alicia
Middletown ct
Cultivating a good life means growing in wisdom and stature with God and man–building relationships with people, giving my family a place where they can grow as well, and praying to be fertile soil that can bring forth the fruit of God’s word. It means making these things a priority and letting other things go when necessary.
I would love to give this as a gift to my sister-in-law who is finally expecting her first child after 8 years of trying.
Jennifer W
Phoenix, AZ
Cultivating a good life is sharing the love of Christ with others around me. It is trying to be a blessing to someone, showing love to others when they are not acting lovely. It is treasuring the blessing of family and home. It is reaching out to others in service, and remembering that we do this because He first loved us.
Thanks Becky for being a blessing to us!
Tina
Olympia WA
For me it means to enjoy the tiny things each day – even the stressful times. My 6 kids are still young (14 years to 7 months) but they grow up so incredibly fast. Every day can be good or bad, depending on how I choose to look at it. And I want to focus on the good. Someday I will miss the tantrums, fussiness, chaos, etc. But I love that I’m in the thick of things with them right now.
For me it means to enjoy the tiny things each day – even the stressful times. My 6 kids are still young (14 years to 7 months) but they grow up so incredibly fast. Every day can be good or bad, depending on how I choose to look at it. And I want to focus on the good. Someday I will miss the tantrums, fussiness, chaos, etc. But I love that I’m in the thick of things with them right now.
Jennifer
Orem, UT
I am trying to cultivate my garden (literally!) with my husband and children this year. Last year at this exact time I was in bed after back surgery, so this is the year we get that garden growing for my boys to witness! Thanks for the chance to win-I live in Round Rock, Texas
Cultivating a good life for me is providing a loving nurturing home where my children and husband feel happy, safe and loved. Cultivating a spirit of faith where they know that with God nothing is impossible and Everything is possible!
For me it’s about enjoy the experience my family has been given, our last year living aboard and every cutlural experience and every opportunity and that I can be a stay at home mum/wife, I am going to enjoy this last year every moment…
Hmm. Tough one. I hope that I do a better job of cultivating a good life. I feel often that I’m not making the most of my life, because I’m not doing what I love, and pursuing a passion. But, I also think that I’m fortunate to have a good job that allows me to do special things for my kids, and spend time with my family, which I couldn’t do as well when I was pursuing my passions.
To me, cultivating a good life means cherishing your family & friends and the moments you spend together. Being present in the moment.
Traverse City, Michigan
I would like to nominate my friend, Kari. Her husband has gone back to school. They have two children and she is very busy. Her husband works and studies for long hours and she is doing a lot on her own. She would like to do Project Life and is saving her money to buy the kit. Although she is not the one going for a dream she is helping her husband with his. It would be so wonderful for her to win Project Life. Thank you.
What a great giveaway! Thank you.
For me ‘cultivating a good life’ is all about slowing down and being present, catching the moment. It’s a struggle and a dream for my every day life.
My dream is to have healthy kids. Struggling with major health issues now.
Jen T
Iola, KS
My goal in life right now is to find balance. To simplify. To love and raise my children without losing the essence of what it me. To find and recognize the joy in little things. To exercise patience with myself and others. WOW. Didn’t mean to get so philisophical. This question really hit home for me and where I am right now. Have to admit was not a fan of the Bieber before seeing the movie with my two kids a couple of weeks ago. Had the same reaction as you did. I even told my children that someday when they get famous, I will be able to make a movie about their life using all our family photos and video. (I can’t tell you how much footage I have of them singing, playing instruments and dancing around the room. Good stuff). Maybe they won’t balk next time I want to take a photo or grab the video camera. Thanks Becky for all you do. Tricia from Southern Illinois.
Wow, you never seize to amaze me, you really look a things differently, and thank you for that, because you are constantly cultivating and inspiring us to live a good life.
One of my dreams right now is to find my purpose in life. Yes, I am happily married, I love my kids to death, I am creative, but what is my true purpose.
Gloria
Frisco TX
Cultivating a good life is to me improving the patterns that I had when I was growing so that my children can start and continue on a journey of faith and love. I live in Medway, MA
For me cultivating a good life means reaching out to others. I am doing that right now by being a surrogate mother for a wonderful couple that cannot have kids of their own. My goal is, of course, help them achieve their dream, but also to show my kids that sometimes self sacrifice is so worth it.
Forgot to mention that I live in Burleson Texas
I spen each day trying to make sure that the three wonderful children in this house have a happy and loving childhood full of memories and love.
charlotte Sacramento, ca
I’m cultivating the good life by being the best that I can be. Trying to live more healthily by losing weight and exercising and just enjoying each and every day!
Cultivating a good life: Being a godly wife, mother and friend and teaching my children to love God and love others. My only goal as of now is to raise my children to follow God with all their heart. If I succeed, with God’s help, it will be the most rewarding challenge I have been entrusted with.
Karen
Oak Creek, WI
Cultivating a good life to me means slowing down enough to enjoy and appreciate my life as it is today. Appreciating how God has blessed me. I have been WAY behind on scrapbooking for several years, so my goal now is to simplify my process, to get the pictures into albums, so we can enjoy them. Thank you for inspiring me on many levels!!
Cathy
Loxahatchee, Florida
WIth my daughter off at college for her first year (local but living on campus) and my husband being a road warrior, cultivating a good life to me is one word: SIMPLIFY. Simplify my life, reduce and remove the clutter, lose the worry about things not done. I want to be able to enjoy the precious hours we are together as a family before she is through with college and going off on her own.
To me, cultivating life means taking things as they come and making the eat out of it; driving to be the best wife/future mom/daughter/sister; Growing with God daily; documenting not only the good, but the bad.
A good life is truly enjoying and appreciating moments big and small. From getting a new job to the slobbery toothless grin of my baby girl.
For me…it is about trying to be present and enjoy every minute of this life instead of hustling to the next minute, hour, day or week. Breathe it all in.
Cultivating the good life for me is to take time to enjoy the little things and enjoy the everyday moments. Thanking God for all of the blessings He has given me.
I’ve been singing a Sara Groves song, Generations “Remind me of this with every decision. Generations will reap what I sow. I can pass on a curse or a blessing to those I may never know.”
Portland, OR
To me Cultivating a good life means: Trusting God, Quality family time, Enjoying friends, Learning new things, Growing Spiritually, Nurturing Interests, Reading Great Books, Exploring New Places and Getting some good Belly Laughs whenever possible.
Cultivating a good life means living a Christ-like life in everything I do.
The dream I am working on is to not have to work full time so I can spend more time creating.
Jody
Washington, Ut.
Hi Becky! Thank you for the wonderful post today it was very inspiring! Of course I always can come to your blog to find inspiration
Anyways, cultivating a great life to me is making the best out of everything, everyday. I try to make at least one happy memory for my family every day. Even on the bad days. I always try to look at all of my challenges as a good thing, and I have a few. I have a son with Aspergers (a form of autism), which can be very challenging, but also a great blessing. I also have some health problems. But it really makes me appreciate the small things. I try to teach this attitude to my kids, as well as gratefulness, love, and faith. Cultivating a great life is a choice you make to be happy with what you have!
I really hope you consider me for a project life kit. I have been wanting to do this for a while but my finances have been too tight lately to buy one. I think it is such a great idea! I no longer have the time to pull out all my scrapbook stuff to preserve my families memories and would love to start using project life! As I am now getting YEARS behind! Yikes!!! Thank you for this wonderful opportunity!
Cultivating a good life by trying to let go of the nonessential things in life and focusing on the essential things…..family and the gospel.
Logandale, NV
To me, cultivating a good life means taking advantage of every opportunity given to me. Right now I’m a 40 year old stay-at-home mama who is also a college student! I’m learning about the world and my place in it and using that knowledge to help my children do the same. I’m trying to choose what is best for my life and cut out the things that are holding me back. (thanks for a chance to win!)
Cultivating the Good Life: Making each day count in spite of my weaknesses as I work toward Eternal Life while cherishing childhood, motherhood, and being a wife. Focusing on the good while dealing with the bad…being thankful in all things.
Heather
Chesapeake Beach, MD
Cultivating life is teaching my 3 year old how to live a life that glorifies God in all the little and the big moments of this crazy life.
Sarah Colorado Springs
Right now I am working on documenting my 6 month old daughter’s life. That and sleep are a high priority!! Since it was a struggle to get pregnant and she will probably be my only child, I don’t want to miss ANYTHING in her first year of life (or any other year). I wish I would have bought project life to document her first year, instead I have to make my own version!!! Thanks for a chance to win one!! Michelle in Walled Lake, MI.
Culitivating a good life right now for me means teaching and showing my three girls how to be generous, respectful, loving, kind, selfless and good members of society. There are days where I feel like I have completely failed and then there are days where we sit back and look back through scrapbooks of how far we’ve come. I just stumbled on your PROJECT LIFE and am so excited to try it out. It will save me countless hours of sleepless nights worrying that my scrapbooking isn’t up to date:) Thank you for your generousity:)
Cultivating life to me is giving my 5-year old the tools that he will need to be a successful, intuitive, and giving person in the world. We live in Austin…and love it!
For me cultivating a good life means to enjoy and cherish every minute with my family and to be the best person I can be.
Surrey, British Columbia
To me it means making the best of what we have. We have a roof over our heads, food on our table and the ability to worship without fear or prosecution. These are things we take for granted and yet so many people in this world lack these. We lead a simple life and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Love your life and the little moments that make it so special. This is why I am on year 3 of Project Life- little moments=great life! Thanks for all you do Becky.
JoAnn
I took my son, Sam, to see Never say Never yesterday, too. It was great how they had so much of his life recorded. I teared up as well.
Right now I’m working towards getting back into shape and teaching my children how to be kind and respectful people…even towards their sibling
. Cultivating a good life means taking care of ourselves so that we can take care of others the best we can.
Alissa
Midland, MI
Hello! I found your website on facebook yesterday. After my sweet family went to sleep, I spent the rest of the night reading every entry on your blog! At 1:45am I purchased my first Project Life kit! I am not the most organized, not a super creative decorator and I have never scrapbooked, but I have always taken lots of pictures of my growing family (the pictures are my most treasured possessions…I never erase pictures and have all of my memory sticks in a safety deposit box…now, what good are they doing there
?) Thank you for making Project Life universal for all types of mothers who have the moments documented, but have no where to put them! My first Project Life entry will be today, yep, Monday, February 28th! A year can start anywhere, right?!? 
Cultivating a good life. Hmmm. Another reason I have love this blog (for 15 hours. hehe) is because of questions just like this. Questions and comments that everyday mothers wouldn’t normally sit down to think about. Cultivating a good life, for me, would mean being “present” in the everyday fun of our family. I know it sounds cliche, but it is something I must remind myself of on a daily basis. Forgetting the daily “chores” and sitting on the floor with nothing else on my mind but to experience the day with them. Laundry can wait!!
I would pay the Project Life kit forward…just so you know
Cultivating a good life means showing my husband how much I love him every day; raising my children in a loving and safe environment, providing life experiences, a foundation in faith, and educational opportunities for them to become productive members of the community; and dedicating a career to helping others and the “greater good”.
Annalise
Temple Terrace FL
To me cultivating a good life means creating a unique family identity with my husband and sweet 8 year old son. We love to each pick our favorite things and bring the entire family along for the ride…it could be hiking, or creating art or playing baseball, but the key is enjoying it together.
Denise K., Newark, California
I’m at a crossroads in my life. But I know deep down this is where we’re all supposed to be. My oldest has finally found the job of his dreams which he started last week. I’m so grateful-especially in this economy. My 2nd son has (all on his own) planned a big birthday surprise for me next week-I’m grateful for how kind & thoughtful he is. And lastly, my youngest got her acceptance letter for the university that was her first choice. So they are all becoming independent but next year when I truly have empty nest syndrome I’m not sure how I’ll handle it. It will be the first time in 24 years that I won’t have a child at home!
Cultivating a good life to me is spending time with loved ones, doing things to make others and yourself happy, making memories and documenting them.
oops – and I live in Sacramento, California
For me, cultivating a good life is appreciating what I have now. I found that living in the past wasn’t helping me or my family in the present or the future. By accepting and appreciating today, has allowed me to be a postive role model to the people I love the most.
Really?! A Positive Role Model?!!!
I am trying to discover my purpose in life….with work and home..
helping others is STILL a passion so how can i re-fit that into my life
i do it in my job (as a kindergarten teacher)
but want it to go further then that!!!
so exciting!!!
journey begin!!!
Cultivating a good life means not letting a busy life get confused with good life! Taking time for the little moments, real comments and dreams of my kids clears the fog of a busy life, leaving room to discover a great life!
My 13 year old daughter saw the movie this weekend also. She was not a Justin Bieber fan either but her friend wanted to go. She liked the movie too and says she likes him now. It’s good to see that he’s made a career without being on the Disney Channel!
I want my husband and children to know how much I enjoy every day – no matter how mundane. Thank you! Melissa in Highlands Ranch, CO
To me cultivating a good life means enjoying every minute with my little family and being grateful for all that we have along the way. It’s not always the easiest task but I think it’s one of the most important ones. Right now I am working on documenting my 6 month old son’s everyday adventures! Thanks for the chance to win!
Tara
Clinton, Utah
With a young friend (33), mother of 2 young children, wife, daughter, granddaughter, spending her last few days on this earth (cancer) trying to document as much as she can for her small children (5 and 3), I am seeing first hand how important the pictures and journals are. Not just for you, but for everyone around you. She is an amazing woman, finding strength where there is none, so her kids will know her through her letters to them as they grow up. So I guess (in more than 2 sentences, sorry), “cultivating a good life” as changed a little for me in the last few weeks. It’s funny how you really choose to LIVE when you are reminded of how fragile life IS. “Live everyday like it’s your last.”
Westminster, CO
Right now, cultivating a good life is putting one foot in front of the other and trying not to let things get me down. Things have been less than stellar for us lately. I have to keep us focused on going forward. Not focusing on all the bad things that keep happening. I scrap the good with the bad although I hide the bad journaling with a happier picture of my DH and I. Just trying to document the now. One day at a time – that’s what we can do at moments and that’s the path we are currently on.
Oops, forgot to put my city.
We live in Phoenix, AZ
I thought about my response and thought it was a good one, but then reading through some of the other 500+ comments- looks like quite a few people have the same thoughts I do.
For me, cultivating a good life is spending quality time with my family and enjoying the little moments with my kids (4 and 2). I am good at documenting the major events but need to be better about documenting every day life. I know that I am going to miss these days and I really need to start a Project Life to capture “the now”.
Krista – Richland, WA
Cultivating a good life for me means raising my two boys to always be grateful for how richly blessed God has made their lives and to always know that because we are so blessed we must bless others whenever we can. I want them to know that no matter what bumps come along, they are still blessed beyond belief because they have a mother and father who love them and a heavenly father who loves them unconditionally.
It is making time for the stuff you love, while doing the things that are necessary. Like when your best friend offers to come over and see you, even if it means she has to help unload the dishwasher and fold laundry. Mine is a rockstar, and she needs Project Life.
Cultivating a good life to me is spending quality time with my husband and six children and trying really hard not to worry about all the stuff that won’t matter in the end. Will they really remember that the laundry was always done or that the house was always clean or will they remember that we read scriptures every night and that they felt loved and happy and safe. I want my children to grow up to be happy, productive and compassionate adults. In order to do that I have to be their #1 example and sometimes that is hard. If I can succeed in helping my children succeed then that is a great life!
Amy
Surprise, AZ
Right now, it’s about thinking about what I do to make the life I want for my family – from our home, to our meals, to our adventures. I wish I could go back and start over on some things but since that’s not an option, we’re going to make the best of it going forward!
Cultivating a good life to me, means balancing out in a good manner the different aspects of life.
I would love to document my life now as a single person, as I believe life changes much after singlehood. Hopefully with a Project life kit, cos all options currently available make it difficult to be shipped to Singapore, where I am
Cultivating a good life means savoring every day– the big moments, the little moments, and everything in between– as a gift from God. It means loving others and doing all I can to help them find roots and wings.
…Living in Minneapolis, BTW!
Cultivating a good life for me is nurturing the relationships that bless my life and appreciating the opportunities that I have to work, to serve, to laugh, and to rest.
Tammy (Northern Illinois)
Avon Lake, Ohio
three years ago my partner of nine years walked out after telling me he was seeing someone else…i was shattered & had depression & anxiety for the next year or so…one afternoon, something clicked & i realised that my life wasn’t going to fall from the sky & I had to get out there & create it. I’m now in my second year, completing my diploma in digital photography…i’m happy, loving life & i’m smiling – i’m cultivating my new & happy life!
“Cultivate a good life” to me means that I am taking hold of the life I have and make the best of it, devoting myself to my children and husband. I strive to make a happy home and life for us. I want my children to remember a warm, happy and loving home. Project life will help me capture those everyday moments and still give me the time to spend with my family.
Cultivating a good life…what does that mean to me?
A fulfilling life where I’m happy and content and can support those around me (family, friends) so that they, too, cultivate a good life.
Tiffany H.
Irvine, CA
For me it’s about taking what I thought I missed out on in childhood and making sure my own kids have a faithful, well rounded, well disciplined and fun childhood. And guess what? I didn’t miss out after all, I just had an entirely different type of childhood that has made me who I am today. Coming full circle for me cultivates a good life for them.
Right now I am trying to cultivate a good life by being intentional in my time & relationships. We are also trying to get out of debt in order to cultivate a good life and follow some of our dreams! Thanks for the giveaway!
Cheri in Kansas
I think Bob Dylan said it perfectly…
“take care of all your memories, for you cannot re-live them.”
Keely Meier
Salt Lake City, Utah
Cultivating a good life means spending quality time with my family and only worrying about the things that are truly important in life.
Michele
Wallingford, CT
Colossians 3:17
17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
This is how I strive to live my life and to teach my kids to live thier life- to give God the Father glory in everything that we do. Giving Him the credit for EVERYTHING. Nothing I do can earn my salvation, it is a free gift. But I can give glory to God with my life.
Oops forgot to mention where I live
Deanna
Charlotte, Mi
I think cultivating a good life means one that has no regrets. You need to live it to it’s fullest and be able to sleep deeply each night knowing you did your best, either professionally, spiritually, personally, as a parent, etc.
Beautiful Colorado Springs, Colorado – My sweet In-Laws gave me a Project Life book to capture and record our 1st year of marriage. Im hooked!! I cant imagine not continuing this as we grow together as a couple and raise a family of our own. What a sweet and thoughtful gift that keeps on giving
For me, I want to cultivate a good life by not necessarily being rich with posessions but with memories, with the relationships with my family and other loved ones.
Growing your own happiness. Adding the right and healthy nutrients and making your happiness garden grow.
And I forgot to add where I live…
Anchorage, Alaska
Cultivating a good life = Always being there for my family and showing them just how special each of them are!!
Sherry
Ithaca, MI
To me cultivating a good life means turning off the reality shows and focusing on the reality that is right in front of me. It means spending less time updating my 301 “friends” on facebook and spending more quality time with my few true friends. It makes me so sad to see how many special moments people miss out on while their eyes are looking down at their cell phones or at the computer? On that note it’s time for me to log off…
Kaley in So California
Cultivating a good life to me right now means teaching my daughters to choose the right and to be a good example to them. I want them to bewho they are because they are beautiful daughters of God. It’s all about family and my faith!
Donna M.
Nevada
Cultivating Life means to bring my past and my future – together into one catagory and call it “Celebrate Life” – - no matter the journey of the good, bad and ugly parts of my life! – Maryland
Something I learned back in my ARMY days. . . . . BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE!!
It was an Army slogan but I have lived my life that way since. I just always try to be the best I can be, and I think that my kids have seen that and learned from it. They are awesome and I can’t help thinking it is partly because I lead by example.
I live in Petersburg, MI.
To me it is raising my children with my forever companion and whether it be a mission or education or both seeing them come home and start their lives and put into their homes the things they have been taught. We did a few things very right we are finding out. Makes my heart so happy.
One goal I’m working towards right now is getting into a medical program, that I have been wanting to do for about 10 years now. The reason that I had not been able to go to school for my goal is simply life kept getting in the way, a husband in the Airforce and three kids. We are finally in a place in our lives that we are not PCSing (moving anywhere) and my kids will all be in school next year, so now it’s my turn to acheive my goal. I am looking forward to working hard to achieve my goal.
To me, cultivating a good life means living in the now before it passes you by. We all are guilty of being overconsumed with stress and other issues that we forget life is too short. Cherish life from the minute you open your eyes in the morning till you close your eyes again at night. Life is a gift from God. Let’s show him how grateful we are by smiling and living it.
I live in Las Vegas with my 2 munchkins and hubby!
To have a record of how i love my twins, how important faith is, and little tidbits from me on life, so they will have something to refer to when i am not with them physically. sorry that sounds so sad, but that is so important when you’re loved ones are gone.
Cultivating a good life for me right now is about making choices that I would be happy with my kids making because they’ve been watching me for years and I am their greatest example. To me it’s in the way I live out my love for Jesus, in the way I treat others, in the things that I say, in my integrity, in my food and exercise choices, in the way I see myself (including loving myself), in letting go.
Angie, Gilbert, AZ
I am currently challenged with the highs and lows of with living abroad with my 2 and 3 year old who was very recently diagnosed with Autism. I have no family for support, can’t speak the local language, and find each day with my daughter a struggle. But like your project life I take a picture each day to remind me how lucky I am to have such beautiful, special children.
I do not have to cultivate a good life. God has blessed me beyond belief. Some people wonder why I work two jobs and volunteer in the community. I do so because my passion is to give back for the blessings I have received. I do this by being the voluntee director of a free health clinic, fostering dogs for the humane society, and serving on committees at the homeless shelter. People often ask about my family- the greatest part of the goodlife is my family volunteers with me. I can not think of a buyer way to cultivate a goodlife than to just live life.
Right now, cultivating a good life is working together to mend my relationship with my husband, to stop putting off things because I am afraid, being in the here and now with my kids, and accepting my life for what it is and realizing change can be a wonderful thing. In other words, it is living with purpose.
I would LOOOOOVE to win this for my sister, Jen who first got me interested in stamping and scrapbooking – but now has 2 small children and no time to scrap
She saw my Project Life kit this weekend and said ‘NOW THIS IS THE WAY TO SCRAP’. Perfect!
“Cultivating a good life” to me that means using the abilities that God has given me to help others every day, in any way that I am able, whether I am at home, work or elsewhere.
Amy
Concord, NH
(Australian Expat living in Switzerland!)
Deanna has it so right with Colossians 3:17! To me, cultivating a good life is being with people who uplift and inspire you, and to whom you can do the same. About creating strong, healthy memories for my kids, so that they can go out and do the same. About being the best I can be, as a mum, partner, daughter, DIL, sister, friend and workmate.
Even though i would love a Project Life I am going to nominate my sister. She is a stay-at-home mom and they make HUGE sacrifices for her to do that. I believe a mom is a high calling and if you choose to make those sacrifices to be at home with them then that is awesome. That is cultivating a great life, teaching your family things of eternal value. She lives in Ohio and I live in Missouri and we so wish we could be close in proximity. She tries to scrapbook on a limited budget. Thanks for your generosity.
To me, cultivating a good life means to take time to really enjoy my kids. I sometimes feel like I get too caught up in the “busy-ness” of our everyday routine and trying to fit it all in. This is something I really need to focus on and appreciate every single day because I know my kids are growing up faster than I ever dreamed possible, and I don’t want to look back one day and feel like I missed it.
I wasn’t a huge JB fan either, but I have to admit I totally loved the movie too. I found it very inspirational, and there is no doubt in my mind that he worked very hard to get where he is today.
Cultivating a good life means doing for others and sharing happiness. A current passion? Learning to be a good parent to our first child who is 18 days old!
We live in VA.
Hi Becky. I live in Orlando, FL and although I don’t have the Project Life “kit” I did my best to start taking pictures on a daily basis more intentionally in the beginning of 2010. At that time, I had a 5, 1, and 6 month old and lived in Los Angeles. As luck would have it (and we consider ourselves VERY lucky and blessed) my husband received a new job late in the year and we moved here to Orlando. Can I tell you how much MORE important it is to me now to have those pictures of our everyday life, in a place we lived for a mere 2 years, photographed forever? Not only can we look back at what “life what like” in that year, but in that place–a place where we didn’t land for very long.
So thanks for the inspiration to do that.
How do we cultivate a good life now? I stopped making lists. I play more with the kids. I am more spontaneous because I don’t have to “finish” the list before moving on. Things still get done, some sooner than others, but overall I just want to let go and enjoy. And cultivate it for myself.
Thanks always for your inspiration. Xoxo!
Cultivating = worshiping God, loving my husband, nurturing my children, treasuring my family, being a good friend, exploring my creativity and taking time to enjoy the little things.
Cultivating a good life to me is raising my kids and working hard to stay focused on them (not on my computer
) – helping them learn, grow, etc.
Thanks!
Lynne
Little Elm, TX
For me, cultivating a good life means keeping it simple. Just go with the flow, and before you react to all of life’s everyday stresses, ask yourself (keeping the “big picture” in mind) does this REALLY matter? It’s in those moments that you can choose to make memories. I just grab my camera and take a picture of my daughter (3 1/2), who decided finger paints would make a great “lotion”. She had it everywhere…lol! What a great memory…from up here in very snowy Maine!
This is so great Becky. Thanks so much. Have yet to see the movie with my 12 year old who has recently gotten Bieber-fever.
I took Kelly Rae Roberts’ e-course, Flying Lessons, last year and am currently working toward producing a home decor item – a personalized photo memory canvas. Am super charged up to continue working on that dream this week… so much to do… but it feels real finally!
I just ordered Project Life and have to dive in this week. So looking forward to it.
Oh – and I live in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada – next door to Alaska! So geography doesn’t matter when you have a big dream! Cheers!
it is so funny that this is the subject of your blog today.. Tomorrow is the first of March and I am preparing to make my own changes in the way I live my life.. so your blog was further food for thought for me.. THANKS…
Cultivating a good life for me , RIGHT NOW, in this moment I am in, is about slowing down to appreciate the simpler things. A hug that lasts a little longer than it should, a few minutes of delayed bedtime to talk about the day. Tomorrow will be here soon enough, finish celebrating today.. the moment we are in.
Cultivating a good life means getting back to what matters. We’ve worked hard to become free of things that just ‘clutter’ including stuff, debt, activities, etc. To cultivate means to hope that someday you’ll reap something from that and we hope to reap great relationships with our kids and a real relationship with God and each other. The GOOD stuff!
We live in Michigan
Cultivating a good life means this 4th grade teacher cut her salary in half to job-share and be home in the afternoons to raise her babies! Life would be so much easier at our house (financially), but there isn’t A DAY that goes by that I don’t thank God and my school district for the opportunity I have to spend SO much time with my 1 and 2 1/2-year-old babies!
Amy
Machesney Park, IL
Cultivating a good life to me means remembering that each day is a blessing. Three years ago on St. Patrick’s Day I was diagnosed with stage-3 breast cancer. God in His mercy gave healing, and I never want to forget to thank Him or enjoy the time with my family. We make sacrifices to provide our children with opportunities to learn things that they hopefully will use to cultivate their own good life in service to the Lord. I try each day to remember God’s words in Jeremiah 29:11: “I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future.”
Avon, IN
So, this will sound funny but I am really working on being a homemaker- it is so much harder than I ever thought it would be. Growing up I felt so encouraged to be anything and do anything (motherhood was always kind of expected, just not necessarily planned for, because really, how hard could that be?) Now, I find myself in the role of mother and it is so much more challenging than employee, entrepreneur, philanthropist, student, or any of those other roles. I love taking photos and journaling about my family (3 kids + one on the way) because I think that is part of preserving memories and making a home- and it is a lot more fun than laundry and dishes!
Thanks,
Sara, Budding Homemaker
Layton Utah
I think it’s all about gratitude! When we appreciate the simple things in life we remember how much we truly are blessed with and it allows us to give back! Here’s to all of us cultivating our best life!
Cultivating a good life to me means being a stay at home mom to my 4 kids and enjoying it. Not just going thorugh the every day stuff but enjoying each one of them. I’m a runner and I love it. i fit it in to my busy life because it helps me to be a better mother. I train for marathons and that is my time but it also gives me the energy for my kids and husband.I live a blessed life and I am so extremely grateful.
BTW-I felt the same way about the Justin Bieber Movie. All 4 of my kids are big fans and I love how they made the movie. its all about dreams…..big and small!
Jodi Elwell
Puyallup, Washington
Living in the present, enjoying my kids – all too soon they will be grown up -, never forget the importance of faith and family and record all the memories I can to look back and see what a good life I have had!
Cultivating a good life for me is to be the best wife, mom and grandma that I can be, and to photograph my family life so it is documented for the future. It makes me so happy to get good photos of our everyday life.
Marilyn T
Rochester, NY
Cultivating a good life means enjoying everyday, the here and now, and really paying attention to where my family is at this point in our lives and documenting it. When we look back on this, years from now, we can laugh, remember, and cherish the good, the bad and the ugly and be thankful for everyday.
Leanne in CA
Cultivating the good life to me is being a good mom, wife, Primary teacher, friend, documenter and everything else that I am. There are running jokes in my family that you will never see me at a family event or get together without my camera. My kids will only have their childhood one time. I want to document their childhood as well as my life with pictures, videos, scrapbooks, school works, ribbons etc. That way when they are an adult, sitting with their kids, they can look back at the moments of their childhood that were frozen in time and re-live them. I get so much joy each time I take a picture, video or finish a scrapbook page because I know that I have seize the time.
Pam
Grayson, GA
Cultivating a good life means doing all that I can to keep my family healthy and happy and together. I totally love scrapbooking since it reminds me of why I have chosen to stay home with my kids rather than pursuing my career.
Cultivating a good life to me – starts with my children – I try my best everyday to raise them to love one another – treat each other equal – the good life is the future and they are my/our future. I Love them in southern Minnesota
Cultivating a good life is keeping my eyes wide open, being thankful for every single moment and doing my best to follow Jesus all along the way.
Cultivating a good life… “embracing every moment.” And that has been my goal for 2011…that may mean not folding the laundry today or weeding the garden right now, but it does mean stopping what you are doing to enjoy every minute with my kids and hubby, opening my eyes to all the blessings around me, treasuring those moments with my kids…and being able to leave these moments and memories of our journey for our kids to look back on and remember where they came from and dream about where they are going. May you all love life…may you find joy in your day…may you learn, believe and dream.
Julie
British Columbia
Cultivating a good life……..I don’t think I could write only a sentence or two. Be grateful for your life. Celebrate the lives of your loved ones every single day……and try and be creative while doing it!
Hello from Zagreb, Croatia!
Being thankful everyday and appreciating the little things in life.
Before my grandfather died, his last blessing to us was “Blossom where you’re planted.” Over the years, this has meant so much to me. I’ve learned that “where” means so many things: where I am physically living, where I am in my day, with my children, in my relationship with my husband, with my career. So many things are out of our control, but if we focus on the blossoming, the shining forth, of what is inside, the Best thing that is inside, then all the daily, seemingly insignificant things are imbued with meaning. I record these things in daily pictures (I’d so love Project Life to organize them!!) and in a little Mommy Diary that I keep by my bed and write in every night. This is how I try to “cultivate a good life and record it.”
Shifrah, Atlanta, GA
You say “cultivate a good life and record it.” I love it, and by turning that around you realize more than you ever thought you would. If you are recording life and documenting your daily struggles and happiness, I think we all realize we have and are cultivating a good life. Being true to who we are, spending time with our loved ones and reminding them over and over again, and sharing our thoughts with all that will listen (or read). I love that you becky encourage us time and again to document life however we can and whenever we can. It has pushed me to realize even more about the great life that I have with my family. take a step back and reflect, reenergize, and reconnect!
Tara
North Lima, OH
Cultivating a good life to me means striving to do my best, loving God , my friends and family and being thankful for all the wonderful people and opportunities in my life.
amy, Perrysburg, ohio
Cultivating a good life isn’t always easy especially when we have trials in our lives. For me it’s the everyday little things that I do, to try to build cachacter and keep going. I’ve kept journals over the last ten years and it’s amazing to see how far I’ve come, how different my perspective is, and how much more sure I am of who I am.
There are so many negative influences in the world. But, there are also so many positive influences. We need to focus on the good and it will overtake the negative. I have found that I forget so many good things (I’m not even THAT old yet!) that if I don’t document them in some way they are just that — forgotten. Scrapbooking is one way to remember the good and have it win over the “not so good”.
Thanks, Becky, for your focus on the good in life!
I am trying to live my life in a way that is inspiring and energetic everyday..to be an example to my kids and live so that others know what I believe by the way I act, talk and conduct the affairs of my life.:)
Kiki
Las Vegas, NV
To me, “cultivating a good life” means to cherish the blessings that have given to us and to be generous in giving to others so that they may have “rich” lives. The “giving” includes giving of yourself… volunteering…spending time with your children… spending time with your parents…
–Kathy C.
I am passionate about creating (photography, home decorating projects, sewing, paper crafting, journaling, etc.) and I’m striving to do more of that lately. I have lots of plans and dreams for projects, but get tripped up on actually taking the plunge to make those projects happen. I’m happier and more content when I take out a litttle time each day/week to create!
West Chester, PA
Cultivating a good life means to make the best out of anything, count your blessings, and enjoy the small things that each day brings. My husband and I are currently living in a travel trailer because we are in between houses (trying to sell and buy another) and some days are trying, but you have to learn to laugh at each other and the situation! After all, these past few months will be the ones we remember the most and what we tell our children! I live in the great state of Texas!
Katy
To me cultivating a good life means to be thankful for all of my blessings even in the midst of a tragedy, to share my blessings by reaching out and doing what I can to ease the suffering of others, to always remember how short and fragile life can be so I always work to live my life to the fullest and love my family, friends, and my fellow man. At almost 50, my new dream is to attend Nursing School and take all of the love and loneliness of my empty nest and use it to comfort and care for those who need it most.
Susi D.
Amherst, VA
My 15yr old son made the high school baseball team two weeks ago. It was fierce competition to achieve a spot on the team. He worked for many years up to this moment. And just one week ago he slid into second base and broke his wrist. Done. Out for this season. At the moment we saw the fracture I immediately stopped and thought of all the amazing things he had done up to this point. And even the doctor smiled as I recalled some recent achievements. Cultivating THANKFULNESS through hard times is what comes to mind when I think about “the good life.” “The Lord’s lovingkindness is new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness.”
Cultivating a good life means living in the moment, in each day, and not worry about past choices or being anxious about future ones. It’s making memories. It’s being the best we can be no matter where life takes us, and teaching our children to do the same.
I would like to nominate my best friend, Deanna. She is a wonderful mom to her two children and a great wife to her husband. She wants to be able to scrapbook their memories, but as a midwife, can’t always find the time. I want to introduce her to the concept of Project Life so that some of her “mom-guilt” will go away.
I live in Marshall, MO btw.
Cultivating the Good Life for me right now is learning to come to terms with this: “Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass…it’s about learning how to dance in the rain.” Blessed to be able to keep pressing forward and still DANCE!
Lisa in LA, California
For me, it’s being present. Not rushing through the little things to get to the next. Enjoying every phase (even the tough ones) of my kids growth. Being open to the here, the now, and the learning that is all around us.
And of course – documenting it all along the way. : )
I am a Grandma raising 2 of my grandchildren. I have 3 others besides. I love having them all around but don’t seem to have enough time to do all the scrapbooking that I would like to do. Think I just try to do with them what I did with my kids by taking pictures and hopefully they will enjoy what I do with them as they are older. I think we all just do the best we can everyday and make the most of whatever situation we find ourselves in with trust in the Lord to make it through and love what we do as Mothers.
i love the picture of the ticket stubs! a much better idea then trying to save all those bits and peices.
Cultivating life means trying to write a journal entry every night, it’s something that is good for me, so i can get my feelings out every night, and not hold onto unnecessary things.
To me, to cultivate a good life is to open one’s eyes to the blessings around. It is often too easy for us to look at the things that we are wanting in life or the things that are not going our way. It takes a stronger person, and often a happier person, to look past everything else to see the wonderful things in our lives. I call them my “Silver Linings” of the dark clouds. Every Thanksgiving I make a point to write down the “Silver Linings” I’ve found from every challenge in life.
Ah, what a great blog post. For me, cultivating a good life for me is my kids. I want to show them that I am content, happy, and always there for them.
Anne
Brookfield, WI
Right now, cultivating a meaningful life is going through all my moms old pictures and remembering, cherishing, and feeling grateful that she kept them all. Would love to have a Project Life to bring it all together nicely!
I live in Brampton, Ontario and am a single mother of 3 teens. Part of cultivating my good life is encouraging my children to be true to themselves and to cultivate their own good life. I share my Life Lessons with them to help them to make wise choices for their present and their future. While doing so, I make sure that I learn from my own adventure and not repeat mistakes. Creating a good life requires believing in myself; something that I am just understanding and trusting. Thank you for your generous give away!
It means creating happy memories and recording them, volunteering, serving, making friends, making time for family and friends, playing. I love my family and community, I have to show it, or what good is that love. It’s so much better when shared.
My goal right now is to teach my children to be MORE than accepting of others. I hope they will truly love others. I am grateful to have the opportunity to fully love people all over the globe. We all share this planet. In poverty and wealth, in danger and peace, next door or on another continent. I know for sure the world would be a better place if we focused more on how alike we are, and less on how different we are. I’d love to do a Project Life album dedicated to the love of humanity. A daily reminder to focus on those in our community and beyond who deserve a little extra love and support… and the awesome blessings we gain by opening our hearts to others.
Cami (in Phoenix)
Cultivating a good life means focusing on the positive and remembering to document the happiness in my life.
Morgan
Lincoln, NE
My husband carves the cutest boots and wonderful wooden creations and we
are starting to work toward creating a Etsy.com site to sell his products. So we
will be using this in our Project Life as we go.
Carla from Utah
Our friends, Becky and Mark, are near the end of the long process of adopting a baby boy from Ethiopia. They are “cultivating a good life” for this dear child who might otherwise have a very bleak life. So inspired by their love and generosity. I nominate Becky to win a Project Life to document their first year with their son.
Cindy, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Culivating a good life means remembering all of the times/events/experiences that make you who you are. I want to preserve that for my children.
Sharon, Chicago
I’ll nominate my friend Heidi who recently added three foster kids to her home (along with her own three kids). She is a great example to me of trying to share her good life with others. To me cultivating a good life is about love, and kindness, in all circumstances. It’s what I’m striving for, not necessarily where I am at yet.
Gresham, OR
Cultivating a good life for me means to live an example for our kids, and cherish all of the moments together. A good friend of mine passed away unexpectedly at 34 and left 3 children behind. They didn’t realize that Sunday was the last time they would hear their mother sing like an angel in church. The kids will definitely cherish all the time their momma took in photography and scrapbooking their lives.
Sonia, Texas
Cultivating a good life to me is remembering and honoring your past (preserving it too), documenting the present and looking forward to the future. I am all about keeping it simple too-the key to happiness to me is keeping everything as simple as possible so I can just enjoy being in the moment with my family!
Chesapeake, Virginia
Cultivating a good life simply means (to me) to raise a happy family. To have each one of my boys know that they are loved and have worth would make me the happiest Mama on the planet.
p.s. I need to see that movie.
cultivating a good life for me means focusing more on my relationship with god than material things (although it’s fun to have all the non-essentials!), focusing more on strengthening relationships with those i love and working on displaying spiritual qualities more fully. it’s a progressive goal and one i hope to always be working on.
I too saw the movie with my 2 girls and was also fighting the tears. I was shocked at the emotions that movie/life story of a 16 year old boy could stir!
Cultivating a good life to me is learning from the crummy stuff and appreciating the good stuff on a daily basis. Live for this moment and look forward to the next and learn from it all.
This week I’m rearranging the pictures of family and heirloom pieces in my living room and family room. It makes me feel so warm and cozy to have those special remembrances all around me.
I’m a newly called Primary President. So right now “cultivating a good life” is focusing on these kiddos & their lives as well as my own young family. Hoping I can in some small way help them grow into the people the Lord wants them to become.
Cultivating a good life means everyday trying to be a little better person, wife, mother. It means developing talents and gifts and helping my kids develop their’s.
Nothing would make me happier than to see my daughter continue to grow into a healthy, happy, independant young woman who could take on the world if she so desired and to know that my husband I helped her to do that
I am not so good at living in the today…right now…this very moment. It’s very easy to get caught up in preparing for tomorrow and the “what ifs”. There is always so much to do. I really need to focus on what is right in front of me before it slips by. That is what I am striving for.
LorieR
Flint, MI
For me it is passing it on. Our parents are truly awesome people and the reason my sisters and I are who we are. My hope is to pass on the love and security and solid foundation we have. We just need to pass it on.
Jill B. from Louisville, KY
Something that has become a BIG part of my life just recently that is helping me to ‘cultivate a good life’ is reading and studying the Bible. I’ve always been religious and read the Bible, but recently I’ve had so much more motivation to learn more and I’m really excited about it because I know it will help me be a better mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend.
Sammie
Torrington, WY
Cultivating a good life means that on a daily basis I am teaching my children new things through everyday experiences, bringing peace and comfort into our home through my actions and words, using words of compassion and grace, helping to create simple moments in the midst of chaos, praying for our family and friends and helping our children to see the power of prayer and faith in the Lord…
Carrie
Eagan, MN
I just think that cultivating a good life means that I try on a daily basis to see the good in things, and express gratitude to my family and to my Heavenly Father about those things. I think we skip over our blessings, because we get too busy. Thanks for the wonderful chance!
I am working on being the best wife and mom that I can be. I recently had a baby and he has changed my whole outlook on life. I want to be a better person everyday because of him. I would love to win Project life so I could document his first year of life. I have been taking pictures everyday just can’t afford Project Life yet!
Forgot to say I am in Mount Vernon, WA
Cultivating a good life means living honestly and gratefully.
Cultivating a good life for me is all about giving back. I LOVE to volunteer and support the commuinity and schools who support my kids. If I give they get then they give to my kids and I get. Full circle baby!
To me, cultivating a good life means making sure that our son knows we love him through both actions and words. I never was shown much affection or told I was loved as a child and it is important to me that my son knows what a special person he is. It also means teaching him about showing kindness and respect for others, and also serves as a reminder to me to do the same, no matter what the situation or how harried I am. And finally, cultivating a good life means always taking a step back to count your blessings and never taking anything for granted.
What a great blog post…I had discounted the movie as a teeny bopper movie but it sounds like I might even be interested in seeing it! : )
Cheryl P, Union City, CA
Cultivating a good life means for me trying to balance the ups & downs in life & handle them the best way possible. Giving my family real quality time, experiencing things together and creating wonderful family memories. Good question!!
Thanks Becky!!
Fiona
Las Vegas, NV
For me, cultivating a good life means being involved in my kids’ lives. Knowing their friends. Volunteering at their school. Being there when they get home from school. Thanks for a chance to win, Becky!
Britiney
Boise, ID
This weekend I began my next apartment hunt in the Big Apple. I am leaving roommates behind to cultivating my new good life. I am moving neighborhoods and leaving behind the comforts of having roommates and starting the next phase of my adult-life.
JJ
NY,NY
Right now, cultivating a good life for me means starting a life for myself! I just graduated college and am trying to find my place and find what I am good at. It is very exciting!
Becca
Nashville, TN
I cultivate a meaningful life by appreciating what I have and enjoying my family & friends every day. Family & friends are everything. Documenting daily life is a precious gift to my children to look back & see details about our family.
Vicki
San Jose, CA
I am working towards organization in my life. I’ve started Project Life to get my scrapbooking in order, created a daily chore schedule for myself, and want to create a book of “to do” lists (like the one you used in your post when your kids were sick). I’ve got a long way to go but l think I’ve made a good start.
To me cultivating a good life means making the best of it and cherishing each moment as much as you can, good or bad.
I am cultivating a good life by making sure I get outside every single day with my 3 & 1 year old boys and get some exercise to lose all the weight that I need to to be healthier to enjoy our life with the boys. Now that our 3 year is learning to ride a bike it just makes the whole experience so much more fun – and of course I am taking pictures to record it all, their growth, milestones – and mine too!!
Thank you Becky for providing such an easy way to record our so very normal lives that we love so much!
(from Queensland, Australia)
Cultivating a good life means making an effort to smile each day, to enjoy the moments you have with family and friends.
To be with my family and husband enjoying many adventures together so we can learn to appreciate each other and our extended family, all of our blessings, and the beautiful world around us.
Everyday striving to be a better version of me. To love my kiddo and husband like crazy, not letting a moment pass that they don’t know how blessed I feel and know I am to have them in my life. To try and learn new things. To capture my life, everyday.
At the end of last year, I took a good look at my life (all 23 years of it), and asked myself if I was truly living my best life. The answer was ‘no’. Although I have been incredibly blessed in many ways, I’d had a really tough year health-and emotional-wise, and it had a huge impact on the way I felt and carried myself from day to day.
I was incredibly unhappy, and was caught in the vicious cycle of never having any free time to do anything I actually wanted to do, and the exhaustion that came along with being so very busy without time to just breathe. So I finished up my last year of undergrad, received my bachelor’s degree, quit the job that was a huge source of unhappiness and stress, and started off 2011 with one little word and a heck of a lot of determination.
My ‘one little word’ was WELL, as in be well (in a holistic way – mind, body, soul and spirit) and do well (in the things that make me happiest). I’m proud to say that I my goals are going really well (pun intended). I am healthier than I ever remember being, have lost 7 pounds so far this year, and have had time to read, scrapbook, spend more time with my family, and take time to stop and smell the roses. I am continuing my education starting this summer (going for two more degrees – one in graphic design, one in writing), and have started a blog to share all the great little things, both extraordinary and mundane, that make up the everyday moments of our lives. It is just one way that I have begun to really count my blessings and look at all the little things more in-depth.
Thank you for your continuing inspiration to cultivate a good life and record it. I have taken those words to heart and try to live them every day!
I am cultivating a good life by consciously trying to recognize God’s tender mercies in my life and the lives of everyone in our family. That’s what I’m using PL for!
Tomi Ann from Utah
I am learning to live with my pain and take each day as it comes. If I hurt too much to do much, I’ll just not do much! Finally, after 11 years of 24/7 pain, I’m learning to live in the moment. I take advantage of having a good pain day or being able to tune it out and carry on.
Sorry, that was definitely not a sentence or two! Guess I missed that part the first time around. And I am from Michigan.
I am really working on this during 2011. I have cut back on some of my commitments so that I can spend more time at home with my family. I have two teens, one is going to be a Jr. next year, and the other a Freshman, and have realized I need to spend this time NOW with them, before they are gone. Work on my relationship with my husband, and then together we work on our relationship with the kids.
Living the good life means getting through each day! Just surviving as a full-time working mom with a nine-month old baby is a success. If I can maintain a marriage full of love and laughter and be IN THE MOMENT with my baby girl, then I am living the good life. (Kate from Pittsburgh, Pa.)
I am pursuing my dream of starting a photography business… and capturing the day to day moments with my kids as beautifully as I can… and over the last couple years I have been able to look back and how my photography has progressed!
Lori
Manchester, Iowa
For me it’s all about relationships. Relationships with Family, friends and even strangers we encounter. If we were all a bit kinder to each other I think it would make things better. For some reason we have become a society that condones ill-manners. Think about the most popular TV shows. They all portray people being rude to others or judging other people (reality shows). I think that is one reason bullying has become such an issue today. We all need to be nicer and it all comes down to remembering our manners! Just my thoughts from Cranberry, PA!
Right now I am returning to school for a career change. It is scary and exciting. I have three kids – a son 17 and twin girls 15. I want my kids to see its never too late to follow your dreams(even if your 46).
I’m cultivating a good life by focusing on the positive, practicing mindfulness, and aiming to treat others with kindness and respect always – whether that be a check out lady at a shop, a good friend or a family member – as cultivating a good life to me means passing forward happiness to others lives, doing something kind for someone everyday, and giving love, to perpetuate the cycle! Thank you for providing me continual inspiration Becky
Sarah, South Australia, Australia.
a good life to me right now means that we all just love each other for who we are and stop fighting over stupid things like a bowl going away wrong. that we just have a good time, watch movies, play games, laugh a lot, go for adventure walks and dance. and of course documenting every moment of it with project life!
jen
montreal, qc
I attended a funeral of a wonderful man last week. He and his wife learned this message early on in their 40 plus year marriage: If you miss the joy, you miss everything. This sentiment struck a chord with me, and I’m on my journey to cultivate a better life by keeping this thought close to my hear from now on. (Salt Lake City, UT)
I’ve only found your blog this week & am new to the concept of Project Life but I’m already in LOVE!!
thank you Becky!
And I can’t wait to start, it’s already changed they way I look at life
It means being grateful for the small things in life that most people take for granted. I have a 3yr old son & 4 month old daughter so having a record of our lives to pass onto them & hopefully many generations to come! How much fun would it be to have a project life from our ancestors to look back on!
Kellie – Tasmania, Australia
Cultivating a good life is all about experiences! In our family, we thrive on shared experiences, big and small. We travel so see the world when we can, and when we can’t, we enjoy family fun in whatever way we can. It’s all about the journey from here to there and enjoying it all along the way.
Robynn
Irvine, CA
For me it is about being the best mom and wife that I can be. I am not perfect but I know that if I give 110% then they will know that I am trying my absolute best and be okay with that.
As a Mama of four kiddos, I am faced with struggles in every walk of life….every. single. day. As a Mama of a teenager, I see that she is also faced with struggles in every walk of life….every. single. day. As a Mama of the three younger siblings, I see the same in their little lives. I pray every. single. day. that each of them always remember the important things…God. Family. Love. Forgiveness. Strength. Determination.
I do my very best to document their daily lives and hope that their albums are treasures for many years.
Thank you for ALWAYS inspiring!!!!
To me, cultivating a good life means decluttering it. I know what (more like “who”) matters to me and everything else doesn’t need to be cluttering my life & schedule. Thanks for such a generous giveaway! I know whoever wins these will be so grateful!
BTW, I’m in the Houston area.
I just finished goimg back to school to become a massage therapist after having been out of school for 25 years. I have dreamed of doing this for years and have finally fulfilled my dream.
KellyB
Pewaukee, WI
For me cultivating a good life is showing my twin 9 year old girls that you need to get involved to make a difference – and not to sit life on the sidelines. They help mommy when we volunteer, work to support a cause, or make a differnece in the community. They are learning that you should work hard for anything you are passionate about. And that means giving 110% to anything you do! When you give it your all, you may be tired but, you feel better about yourself in the end!
I work full time as a pharmacist in a local hospital. Every moment at home, I am doing things with my 2 adopted sons. Avery (4 yo) and Davin (2yo). I want them to know the importance of having relationships…with God and Family. I struggle with the lack of time to document their journey. I am so blessed God allowed me to be a mom at 40!
Hugs
Cultivating a good life is keeping your long term goals in view rather than being discouraged along the way. And in the end, it is only your relationships that matter!
Deborah, New South Wales, Australia
Cultivating a good life for me means to live in the moment, to enjoy whatever nice and beautiful is around you, be thankful for blessings and learn from the past. Even a very good life is not without its own downs, so to learn how live through tough times is also cultivating good life.
Cultivating a good life is making sure that my son knows every single day how much I love him, and that I”m proud of him. And, like Ali Edwards talked about at the first of this year, making it a priority to spend time with the people I love.
Trying to cultivate a good life in California, MD by giving thanks for my many gifts and enjoying the moments I am given on this earth, all while getting to know my Creator and teaching my children to do the same! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful product!
I am a full-time working mom of two and sometimes it is difficult to find balance between work and home. Also, at times there is guilt for spending more time at work than at home. So, for me, cultivating a good life means making the most of the time our family has together. When I get home from work, my energy is focused on my family. As a side note- I’m so grateful for Project Life because it allows me to document and “scrapbook” but doesn’t take as many hours as my old traditional scrapbooking did. So, thank you for that!
Cultivating a good life to me means doing good work that benefits others, and enjoying life.
I’m trying to cultivate a good life by living with a better attitude of gratitude. I am trying hard to focus on the positive, find positive things about every experience and be a more positive wife and mom. With a grateful heart I believe that I can make my life good!
I am working on trying to be there when my kids need me, not when it’s most convenient for me. Although, I like the convenient to me part better.
Alison
Walnut Creek, CA
My best practices for cultivating a good life are many, but what I expect of myself as a parent is to be honest and caring always. I didn’t have the greatest childhood, not a horrible one either, but I want my daughter to grow up as a strong and loving person with a solid childhood that she will always treasure. Thanks for sharing this great post with us today. Peoria AZ
To me cultivating a good life means living a life of intent–doing things thoughtfully. For me that means mothering with intent, being a spouse that thinks about what she is doing, and living with intent as a friend, sister, daughter, employee, on and on.
A dream that I am working on right now is taking a trip for our 15th wedding anniversary. We always said we would do something memorable and now the year is here and I working on making that a reality. Even with the challenges of figuring out the kids and schedules–I don’t want to give up on that.
Thanks for your blog–I’m often inspired.
Beth, riverton, utah
I am going back to school to “start” my career after being a stay-at-home mom for the past 16 years. I love being back at school and I love learning. I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I AM doing it and loving every minute. It’s never too late to follow your dreams! (Pearland, Texas)
I am doing what you suggested a few days back and that is to remember that the purpose of the task is to strengthen the relationship!
Thanks for the opportunity to win. I live in Quincy, IL
I completed my first 5k in December. My dream/goal is to complete the Disney Princess half marathon within the next 1-2 years!!
Florida
Living for my family is cultivating my good life right now. When the family is in sync, everything else falls into place. Including “me time”. Because that’s a part of it! Would LOVE to win a kit!!
Marsaille
Spring Valley, OH
I think that cultivating a good life is about family. I am not going to say I had a horrible childhood, I didn’t. But I didn’t have captured memories like these, I have bits and pieces. No movies, a box of pictures. My mom did a great job raising me, I just wish I could see those things in different eyes. I want my kids to know where they came from. I also have a weird thing about preparing them to face life without me (wierd I know) so I want them to have all our life I can leave behind. I love PL because 30 years from now we’ll be reading it, laughing at how HUGE our ipods and phones are, our funny clothes.. I think if you have a great life, the best thing you can do is enjoy it and save some of it for later.
I am nominating my friend Grace.
She, with her 3 kids is the biggest inspiration to me about what it means to cultivate down to earth goodness in our children; time spent with her family is her focus. She is such an inspiration to me that our second daughter’s middle name is after her. With 4 young children myself, I could not ask for a better inspirational friend to challenge me to focus on what life is really about and to remind me what doesn’t matter and to let that stuff go.
Grace (Stephani)
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
For me, “cultivating a good life” means waking up each day with the hope and faith that I will be a better person – wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend. This year, my goal is to be “present” – to enjoy and preserve the current moment instead of always looking forward to what’s coming next.
Thank you for sharing your story – I have an 8 yr old daughter that wants to see the movie, so I appreciate reading about your experience.
Oh…I forgot to say I was in Westfield, NJ
I was reading your blogpost and feel EXACTLY like you did. I begrudgingly attended the movie with my daughters and it hit me in a totally different way than what i expected. I appreciated so much about this movie but more so about this family and how he has remained in sync with his dreams. I am now a huge fan of his. Life to me is about making the most about what you have been given. . and it looks to me he and his family are doing just that. I hope i can look back and say we did that as well.
I think living a good life is about slowing down enough to really enjoy everyday moments. for me, that means working less so I’m better rested and home more, simplifying my possessions and responsible to just those things that really matter to me, making things by hand (food, clothes, etc.) and yes, recording the small details of our lives in words and pictures.
I live in Santa Cruz, CA, where I admit it is a good place to pursue a good life!
A good life for me means staying healthy and happy and in LOVE!
NSW, Australia
I live in Iowa City, IA. I dream of one day having all our family memories, and pictures organized and togther.
For me, cultivating a good life means that I can lay in bed every night with the confidence that I fulfilled my God-given purposes for that day. Not that the house is spotless or dinner was perfect, but that I took the time to stop life and read a story to my toddler or paint my daughters toenails. Again.
Cultivating life is taking whatever comes in life and doing the best you can with it, whether it is good or bad. Life is an adventure and you get to decide how you are going to live it.
Recording the everyday moments as well as the typical “events” is what cultivating my life means for my family. I’ve always kept a camera at the ready, now it’s moved to living in my purse. I love knowing that I can pretty much capture those rare moments that go by in a flash. It was really cool to capture those moments when we lived in Cairo. (We’re evacuees). Now that we are living back in the states, I still love to capture crazy moments.
Jacksonville, Arkansas
Right my, my good life cultivation includes staying mindful and living in the moment, helping build on people’s strengths, and discovering what the next part of my good life entails!
mmmm, cultivating a good life, well it kinda’ ties in with my “one little word” for this year – time. I’m trying to make time for myself this year. By doing so, I find that I am happier and more at peace, and more focused. And with that comes being more patient with my children, more willing to give one on one time with others who need me, it just generally makes me feel that I’m doing a better job as a mom/person.
To me, to cultivate a good life is to teach my child about right and wrong, to put God first in life. Also to take life’s lessons and grow from them, and live life to the fullest. From North Bend, OR
For me, one passion is spending time with my grandchildren. I love to capture memories of the moments in word or image for them to have always.
I’m a wife and a mother, a friend & a sister & I wake up every day and try to be the best person I can for myself & the people I care about the most.
Thanks for everything you do!!
Cultivating life to me means living each day to the fullest and facing everything with a great attitude! I am trying to work on various projects including Project Life but am also focused on getting my 17 year old son’s scrapbook done for graduation next year. I have also had discussions with him and his 11 year old sister about how they need to value the time they have left together as he will be off to college before we know it!
Anway, I hope my outlook creates a good example for my two children. We live in Papillion, NE.
Cultivating a good life means working on strengthening relationships and building memories, it is about experiences and emotions, and not about material “stuff.”
Spending time with my family and friends…life is too short to not spend time with the ones we love the most!
Coffeyville, KS
Finding experiences to share with my family rather than “things” and then recording them for the future both near and far. I want my kids to know, touch and see what it was like to grow up in our family and I imagine and hope that when I am old and grey (okay chestnut brown because I will dye my hair), my husband and I will want to remember and may need some help to remember the beautiful days gone by.
For me it means making a concerted effort to create family unity and love through traditions, activities, teaching, communicating and spending quality time together. I am passionate about wanting to record this time of life, but have very little time to do it with 4 kids, so I am grateful for what you offer to make it actually happen.
Cultivating a good life means to me….”Do less, but do it better”.
This year, I am choosing to spend my time doing less things, but being better at the things I choose to focus on. Such as my boys, my family, making more important & valuable memories rather than spinning my wheels worrying about having an immaculate house or folding that pesky laundry
Cultivating a good life to me means being content and showing my contentment to my husband and children. When I compare myself and my life to others, I begin to feel that I do not measure up. Lately I have quit worrying about everyone else and have focused my time and energy on my family. I have been so much happier and because of this, my family has been happier too. I am showing them (actually showing myself) how wonderful our life is. I live in windy and cold Wyoming.
Just had a new baby last October want to document his life. Love looking at my baby pictures and wish my parents took more!
I am loving digital project life for the non-mess approach to documenting life!
Hyrum, Utah
To me, it means living each day to the fullest as it is a gift. Love my family and don’t sweat the small things. My grandson is 3 and we play hard, the housework will be there when he isn’t. Thank you Becky for PL.
Fort McMurray, Alberta Canada
I’m cultivating a good life by FINALLY realizing that it’s okay to be happy even in the middle of tons of bad things going on. Appreciating the beauty of the every day must be what it’s about-the dog curled up next to me, the cat laying on my stomach, the little girl sleeping next to me with her Velveteen Rabbit cuddled up with her. RIGHT NOW, THIS MINUTE life is good.
Cultivating a good life means showing my 5 year old boys that they are the most important thing in my life by giving them the most important thing I can – my TIME. (oh and about a thousand hugs and kisses a day)
Melanie, Paducah, KY
I have a dream . . . to leave a footprint of my time in my family’s life for future generations. I want them to hear it from me.
I am cultivating a good life by being here for my kids and my family and my kids at school! Thanks for the great message. Did Porter like the movie?? My friend took her 6 year old and she fell asleep in the middle of it-but my friend loved it and had a similar experience as you!
I find myself at a new crossroads. My oldest – son, 14 – is becoming a young man. His voice has deepened, there are whiskers on his face and hair under his arms. I know that they have to grow up, but 14 is the age that I remember myself having opinions and the ‘want’ to be someone, something. My parents, while I loved them, were hopelessly clueless (or so I thought) and I want to make sure that I am doing all the right things by my child. I catch myself looking at him and wondering ‘What is he thinking right now?’ Is it deep (probably not), does he think I am hopelessly clueless (I hope I’m not!). I watch him go off with his friends and pray that I have given him the proper education with regards to being a gentleman, being a noble person, being a non-annoying teenager that you so often find at the mall/movies/etc. Just when I think I have myself talked into letting him grow up, he’ll snuggle up next to me on the couch or just give me a hug for no reason. Dagh!! Then I have to start over again (after I finish sniffling the tears away). But that’s life I guess…. I hope I am cultivating a good one, not only for myself but for him too.
-Chris / Appleton WI
My kids are 2 and 4 and right now cultivating a good life means being there for them and enjoying this precious time with them. It also means remembering to make time for my husband and to show him how much I appreciate him. I have an idea floating around in my head to make video clips of myself for my kids so that if something happens to me they have those clips to watch and be reminded how much I love them.
BC, Canada
I’m from Massachusetts, which has a rich history and traditions as well as offers many seasons to enjoy. So, for me, I think cultivating a good life is having all my best ingredients in every day. For me they are: a bit of work – I am the editor of a online newspaper which I am lucky to do work from home, so I write every day; spending time with my husband and boys (3 and 7) whether it’s playing basketball (or any playing), reading or just hanging out and catching up on our day, scrapbooking or knitting – whatever is inspiring me that day, and spending time or talking with family or friends who make me a better person (many of my friends are such a positive and creative influence on me, and they inspire me to find joy in all of life – the good the bad and the ugly).
Something I’m working toward right now is going to medical school. It’s a lot of work taking classes, volunteering, studying for the MCAT, etc. but I know it will be worth it!
For me, it was going back to school to get my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Social Work. The process of obtaining my education was both rewarding and challenging to me. My degrees will enable me to help others to cultivate the best lives that they can for them and their families. This is a circular system for me, watching my clients succeed in their own lives helps me want to further cultivate my own life so that I can give them my best. The process of finding a job has proven to be a difficult and lengthy process, but I recently obtained a position and can’t wait to get started again!!
Erie, PA
Right now, cultivating a good life means being a joyful mom (after trying for 13 years!) to my GORGEOUS little girl. Like Justin, I refused to give up and let others talk me out of doing what my hear and soul told me was my truth. With her, I am obsessive about documenting those “smaller” moments because life really IS in the details. I love showing her how to let your creative soul shine… proudly. I am sooo blessed!
Cultivating a good life for me right now is being present in the moment, loving what I have now, and mainly cherishing my 7 kids for who they are individually and celebrating what remarkable uniqueness and divinity they have within them.
Cultivating a good life = giving.
Coeur d’Alene, ID
BTW.. I forgot to say that I am in the Rochester, NY area! (see my post above! Sorry!)
Cultivating a good life means take the time to appreciate (and document) all the amazing things that God has blessed me with at this very moment in my life. It also means sharing that with others and helping them to be able to see the hand of God in their lives as well.
Cultivating a good life for me is being a good mom and wife. Our little girl is 16mths old and each time someone asks how Madeline is doing my face lights up. She has taught me to be a better person, to relax, and to focus on the important things…family. My husband and I both work full-time and each moment we get to spend with Madeline is cherished. My husband and I are so blessed with her in our lives.
cultivating a good life is helping my children have good memories. My oldest just got his college acceptance letter in the mail, and I want him to remember his “childhood” as happy times, and want to come home and want to create his own “good life”.
Rocklin, CA
Cultivating a good life means making the best out of difficult situations. About everything possible went wrong with my 1200 mile move this past week. Here’s to a fresh start in a new place!
I try to cultivate a good life for my kiddos by being there for them, making time for them and just allowing them to be kiddos in a grown up world. I am there to guide them, yet walk alongside them as we make the most of this thing called daily life. Such wondramous memories to experience and to make for them.
Kempner TX
Oh I forgot to mention my new location is Cowley, WY
For me, cultivating a good life means making each day count. The little things, like bedtime chats about what happened during the day, the silly moments and laughter when tickling my kids or my favorite, listening to my kids playing together or laughing a funny joke make each day count. My favorite saying is “It’s the little things that count” and in this case, those little things are my three babes.
reno, nv
I am in the process of cultivating a great life by attempting balance. By saying it’s ok to let some things go, so I can enjoy the more important things. For example, that pile of laundry will still be waiting for me tomorrow, but one of my twins will change in the blink of an eye. So I’m trying to slow down more. I’m also trying to whittle away at my personal goals and aspirations because I think to be a “whole” person, we need to have something that’s individual to us in addition to dedicating our time to family. So, I’m working on cultivating a life that is balanced and while that seems impossible on some days – I’m truly going to start each new day with that goal in mind.
I am SO Happy first off that I had decided to do this Project Life & If I were so lucky to win I would gift this to my SIL as this would be a wonderful thing to do for my nephews & herself. For me right now I am at the peek of cultivating a wonderful and blessed life. Each day I am so thankful for my children and my husband each time I open up my Project Life Album and start to put together my week I can not help but tear up and just give thanks to our Lord for the blessing. Its only been 2 mths but I cherish this album so much. It makes me see that having my family is all I need to have it all.
cultivating a good life means not focusing in on the small stuff that my kids won’t remember. My two girls, 4 yrs and 5 months, won’t remember if the laundry was done, floors were clean or dishes unloaded when they are older. what they will remember is the trips outside to look at the lightning, making soap.com boxes into airplanes and looking through the project life album to remember the small things that have made us into the family that we are.
liz
harrisburg, pa
PS: I live on the East Coast.
Cultivating a good life and recording it…
In so many ways on so many levels.
I started {mantooth365} as a way to document our family for an entire year through photos. I scrapbook, but with 5 kids it is hard to keep up. So this is my way for now to keep up. I love it. I am pursuing my long dream of photography. Things are picking up little by little and everyday I am thankful for it. I am thankful that my husband gave me the nudge I needed to pursue it last year.
I thank God on a daily basis for all the wonderful things in my life and I want my kids to remember all the good bad and ugly we all faced each and everyday.
Thank you for all your amazing inspiration Becky.
Wow. This made me really think.. I think I want to be a better mom to my two little girls (3 and 1.5 yrs old) and have more fun,laughter in our everyday life. And now that I’m expecting our 3rd baby, it made me relaize how having 3 kids under the age of 3 will change my life. I know this isn’t impressive like others.. But I hope to be able to learn how to have time with my girls along with a newborn baby, etc.
Ps – karen, grapevine texas
Cultivating a good life for me means appreciating and being present with the LIFE that is right before me = my husband and my kids. It’s not waiting for life to happen, or thinking that some big moment will be my life, no, it’s realizing that MY LIFE IS….the day in, day out stuff, the little things that happen here all day long that truly are my life. I want to enjoy this life and be present for it every single day. Thank you SO much for Project Life, Becky!!!
I live in Vancouver, WA.
Spending time with our first baby- a 10 month old daughter and waiting the arrival of our 2nd in June. Documenting our moments with her so far and reminiscing on the last 10 months while my husband is deloyed overseas. Being grateful for the family we have so far but waiting and praying for his safe return. Project life looks amazing and I would love to give it a go to capture more moments of our lives.
Kelli- Brisbane, Australia
Focus. Focus on Jesus. Focus on family. Focus on health. Stop multi-tasking. Be present in the here and now. Focus.
Cultivating a good life to me most significantly means making a difference in the lives of my loved ones first, and additionally, finding ways of contributing positively to the lives of others in general. To this end, the goals I’ve set to accomplish this are to remain aware of the ways in which I can support my family, friends, and loved ones whether it is through some specific action, support, or whatever else may be involved; and, to actually do what it is that I can to make such a difference. This generally permeates into all things in life. Yes, this sounds pretty vague and somewhat generic, but when you try to implement such an outlook, it becomes tangible and specific as you apply it to life.
Thanks for the opportunity, Becky! And for always providing such insightful opportunities for reflection.
Helen/Eugene, OR
cultivating a good life for me is all about relationships. My relationship with God, my family, my love, my friends. Relationships define me, I try to cultivate these relationships everyday. -Jenn, KY
Cultivating a good life to me means putting God 1st, my husband 2nd, my kids 3rd…and everything else will fall into place.
~Wendee from Oregon
Cultivating a good life means:
*taking the time to smile, laugh, dance (alone or with kids) and just be silly and free
*simplicity=more time=family=documenting life
*one project/task at a time=less stress
*make a list=projects/tasks don’t all NEED to be done all at once=break it down
Thank you Becky for your continued inspiration!!
Cultivating relationships is what matters. Because you can’t take the STUFF with you.
Sarah from Bellingham, Washington
I’m cultivating a good life by not worrying about what others think. So what if I dance with my five year old in the electronics section at Wal-Mart? I will live my life the way I think I should.
Cultivating a good life is making the right decisions daily that will lead to a life filled with love, laughter, and respect for our family. I want to look back after a year and be proud of the growth we’ve made – together and individually – and the fun we’ve had along the way!
Appreciating what you have and where you are. Making subtle positive strides to progress if you have a goal to be something/somewhere more. Working everyday, even tiny little bits, to ensure the ones you love know you do!
I so want to see this movie now.
Thanks for the wonderful giveaway. I already have my Project Life started; but would LOVE to give one to my sister so we can do it together.
From cold and snowy Snoqualmie, WA
Cultivating the good life for me means spending as much time as I can with family. Our only daughter is getting married this summer and I’m trying to enjoy every moment of the planning stages, my husband of almost 25 years and I are getting ready to move into our dream home, we are moving my aging parents in with us so we can spend their last years together with them–to me that’s part of living the good life!
WELL… is there a cap on how much I can write (if so i’ll need to delete this part! LOL!)? Because I have always “thought” about scrapbooking and calligraphy with limited follow through and time. With a little bit of exposure from a old colleague and friend, Erika who is a BRILLANT scrapper extrodinaire, who is pregnant and blogged about creating her own Project 365, with reference to Becky!!! I being pregnant as well and now finding time and more enthuisam to ignite scrapping/journaling… I bought Becky Higgins Project Life 365 Kit for my Baby Girl due in April!!!
I am so excited… I have added several pages (ok 12 – 12 x12 pages for Becky’s extra sheets and cut up calendar for each month), that will serve as a ending page for the previous month to put a pic of our growing baby girl and a month at a glace to start the next month, thank you Erika for the idea! I even found a 10 pack of other verticle picture divider pages w/journaling spots to huck in there as well. AND I couldn’t resist buying some additional baby girl paper, just in case I want to cut them into filler sheets! SO… with my new found passion for scrapbooking for my baby girl… I’ve also tried to inspire others, as “if I can do it, ANYONE can do it!” philosophy!!!
With Becky’s inspiration for a give away… I nominate my best friend, Denae as she had a beautiful wedding that brought my hubby and I together, and think she would LOVE the opportunity to do her own Project 365, as well as another reason for us to spend more time together!!!
- Amanda / Victoria, BC CANADA
Being in the moment. Life really is about the little things and those are the things that can be easily forgotten if not captured and documented.
Cultivating a good life to me is learning to balance my dreams of becoming a published writer with my reality of life with 3 girls aged 5, 3, and almost 4 months. I find myself in a transition period right now where I am getting used to having 3 kids, and still trying to enjoy them all without neglecting my writing time.
I tend to look too much to the future, ignoring what’s going on right now, so I’m trying to appreciate and enjoy and revel in my life as it is now. On my bulletin board is a copy of “The Station” by Robert J. Hastings. Basically, it says that we see ourselves on a long trip with the final destination — the station — uppermost in our minds. “When I’m 18,” “when I get a promotion,” “when I reach the age of retirement,” etc., etc., then I will be really happy. But, he says, there is no station — the true joy of life is the trip. So I’m focusing on enjoying the trip! I love this verse: “This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24).
Oops, forgot to mention my town, Greenville, Mich.
I want to travel with my family. My oldest child will graduate from High School in a few short years and I want to make some traveling memories together!
Shelley in Sparks, NV
Right now I’m working to start a small photography business. But the whole “business” end of things is scaring the pants off me. I can do the creative side…but I need to get my rear in gear, get over my fear, and just jump in.
For me, cultivating a good life is a process of living my life in a way that authentically reflects my priorities of God, family, others, and then self. This means that everything I do — from the general “making decisions” to how I spend the time, talents, and money God has blessed me with to what I do and say — is measured against those priorities.
Am I 100% consistent and successful? Oh, no! I’ve definitely cultivated a dandelion or two. But since I became more deliberate about things such as how I spend my “free time” and what television shows I watch, etc., my life has been more fulfilling, less stressful, and much more meaningful.
To me, ‘cultivate a good life’ means to explore and appreciate moments of simple beauty everyday, whilst helping to create these moments for myself and for others. With a beautiful 7 month old son, I am blessed to discover these moments every single day.
Michelle – whole-heartedly excited about Project Life in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia!
Cultivating the good life to me right now means being thankful for every blessing even when I feel like there is a storm of negatives swirling around me…it means soaking in every precious moment I have with my family…and documenting every bit of it of course!! And it means showing my 2 girls the beauty and fun in the smallest things!
~Staci from GA
Cultivating a good life for me right now is simply getting through day. I have 3 girls, 6, 3 and 7 months and the younger 2 both have a tummy bug! They are both asleep at the moment and rather then doing the mountains of vomit stained washing I’m taking 5 minutes for me! And boy do I need it
My Grandmother kept wonderful scrapbooks of her life. I have made it my mission to continue on with this and add more. Although my Grandmother took lots of photos and wrote who the people were, she did not write “WHO” they were. My goal is to add to this going in the past for some but moving forward with who we all are now as a entire family. I have included what we do for a living, who we are in life and what hobbies we all enjoy. I think it adds more to the history of our family.
Heidi, Guerneville, California
Cultivating a good life for me right now is finding balance between my professional – teaching – and personal – wife, mother, friend, etc. – life.
Parker, AZ
I am trying to cultivate a good life by being a good wife to my husband and mother to my 16 month old son. Even though I have a long way to go, I strive each day to live my life how my Heavenly Father wants me to. I try to find ways to serve others. I believe that trying to be an instrument in Heavenly Father’s hands and showing His love for others (including my family) is the ultimate cultivation of the best life. My grandma was amazing at record keeping, family history, and genealogy. Ever since her funeral last year, I have felt really inspired to be a good record keeper – not only for my posterity, but also for my present and future self. I think you can learn a lot from personal and family history.
Shelly in Coralville, IA
Cultivating a good life is all about raising and enjoying my 4 children. Giving them love and support and independence to find their way to their own happiness. My daughter found her love in studying ancient civilizations. My son is serving his country as a United States Marine. My younger daughter and son are exploring many different branches. I can’t wait to see where they put their roots! Life is good:)
Oh, and we live in Wisconsin, where we are not only cultivating a good life, but fighting to keep it
I stand with Wisconsin Unions.
Right now I am working on the food side of our lives. Shopping local, organic when possible and trying to stay in the perimeter of the grocery store. We’re trying to avoid processed foods as much as we can- it’s harder than I thought! One day and meal at a time to a healthier life!
I have a friend who lost her precious child very suddenly at the age of 6 months. Somewhere, she and her husband found the strength to fight for a happy life for themselves. Somewhere, even deeper, they found the courage to try again. Tomorrow she will give birth to a beautiful baby girl, a baby who will live a meaningful and cherished life with two of the best parents she could hope to find. I am in awe of these friends constantly and I believe they are cultivating a very good life. – Nancy, VT
Right now, cultivating a good life, means that I spend a lot of time with my 4 young children. (I have four boys–6, 4, and 1 year old twins!) Yes, my house is a disaster 99% of the time, but I want to MAKE memories with THEM. In 5 years when they’re all in school, then I can have a clean house for more than 2 minutes. But for now, I’m taking the time to play with them, read to them and teach them about life!
Oh, I’m from Elwood, Ut
And I loved your post by the way Becky! In my eyes, only a fantastic blogger could write about Justin Bieber and connect him to living the most out of your life. Enjoying your posts more and more every week Becky xx
The dream I’m working for right now is finishing my PhD and finding a job near my parents and my husband’s parents – the dream is having kids with family near by. Cultivating a good life is making time for what matters – right now I’m in a process of discovering what it is that I think matters – and trying to enjoy the process of pursuing the dream.