21 Comments

• 1. Karen Lisa Dagnan&hellip  |  September 11th, 2009 at 2:20 pm

  I love your web-site and have sent several scrapbooking friends to your site.

  Also enjoy reading your personal and sometimes inspirational writings.

  Thank you for well, just being you.

• 2. Denise Little-Miller&hellip  |  September 11th, 2009 at 2:26 pm

  After 16 years of marriage, I made the same decision you have come to. It wasn’t always easy, but it was definitely the right decision. Words of advise, always put the kids first. Even though you and their father are no longer together, don’t play the kids against the other. Stand together in continuing to raise your children. My ex and I remained friends after the divorce for our children’s sake. We stood united on school, their friends…and when they did something wrong. The divorce was 15 years ago. Our children are now 28 and 20, we remain friends for our kids and our grandchildren.

  You will question your decision to leave…..but stand tall, be strong and thrive!

• 3. Leigh Gregg&hellip  |  September 11th, 2009 at 2:36 pm

  Julie, I missed Wednesday’s post because of my busy life. After reading your message of Wednesday I want to share my story with you and the SYT family.

  I am a second career United Methodist Pastor who divorced after a 28 year marriage. We sent to counseling for a year, and it became obvious that this was not going to get any better. Unfortunately, he will not speak to me and is very negative about me to the children.

  Thankfully they are all over 25, 2 are married and the youngest is engaged. I am expecting my first grandchild in April. More reasons to scrap!!! I shall be ordering baby scrap stuff when the baby arrives.

  Divorce is never easy. However, sometimes divorce is the only viable option in order for us to live out the life that God desires for us. I can honestly say that I am happier and healthier than I have been in 30 years. My relationship with my children has improved greatly. My only sadness is over his inability to be in a relationship with me – which was the whole problem to begin with.

  You have been given a great gift in life, the gift of knowing what is the best for you and your family at this moment. I wish I could tell you life is going to be better all the time – I cannot. There will be times when you wonder if you were better off staying in the marriage – at those moments trust your God instincts.

  you are in my prayers

• 4. Nancy M&hellip  |  September 11th, 2009 at 2:42 pm

  Great poem from Lori O… hugs to all, we surely can use it, in some way.

• 5. Linda M&hellip  |  September 11th, 2009 at 2:50 pm

  Aw, Julie life just happens. No matter how you try to control it, it will spin you, sometimes out of control and you must learn to withstand the swimming head and gingerly (at first) put one foot in front of the other till the spinning slows down and you can focus again.
  At the age of 35
  I buried my husband of 18 years,
  had my oldest son leave me when I needed him most
  raised my two additional children by myself
  found some love along the way
  made some good decisions, some bad decisions
  and survived them both.
  I have been with my second husband for 17 years
  have a home in Phoenix, Arizona
  a beautiful home in Costa Rica
  I have the unconditional love all three of my children and the love of his two children.
  I am 61 years old and still believe the best way to get through this life is to slow down enough to watch grass grow once in a while. Enjoy those things
  that money can not buy. Be grateful for all the love that will come into your life. Don’t grieve to long over lost friends. Laugh load and often.
  Take a deep breath, your going to be fine and if you hit a bump in the road well… Thank goodness this life is not boring,
  we all have good times and hard times, joys and sorrows, keep your head up.
  It’s going to be okay.

• 6. Michele U&hellip  |  September 11th, 2009 at 3:03 pm

  I too am just catching up on all week’s email. I am moved to tears. I also exited a 17 year relationship about 18 months ago. Something that I prayed and prayed and prayed so much about that I didn’t know what to pray any more. I have two daughters now 13 and 11 and it has been the best thing I could do for us. It was difficult, and it hasn’t really gotten any easier, but I am no longer the emotional shrew that I was for many years, trying to be more than I could possibly have energy to be. Life is too short to live like that and counseling also made me realize that the “love bank” needs more deposits than withdrawals. I will pray for you as I do all of those people in our shoes. We must show our daughters that we are strong women, capable and responsible and we don’t need to depend on anyone for our happiness. “Happiness must be grown in one’s own garden.” Bless you for having the courage to share your story – you are never alone.

• 7. Di F&hellip  |  September 11th, 2009 at 3:05 pm

  Julie,

  May you find peace in your new life. It’s never an easy decision to change what you’ve known for so long, but it sounds as though you took this step after much heart-deep thought.

  I check your site every so often, not only for the products, but also your ongoing chat and stories.
  I love your reg line – ‘cuz life is a trip worth scrappin’. Life is a trip, there is no real destination, it’s all in the living along the way.

  Sure, we all run into potholes, detours, and construction, but hopefully there’s many a view of wildflowers along the side and great rest stops along the road.

  May life bring you what you need, and also drop in some things you want.

  (love the red door and the sunflowers!! Shine on!!)

• 8. Mary Smith&hellip  |  September 11th, 2009 at 3:15 pm

  Hi Julie,

  I love Scrap your trip and have ordered so many awesome things from the site!!!

  I want to say how much I admire you for putting yourself out there and starting an online business!! Congrats on the great success. I will continue to be a customer & fan.

  I love reading your personal notes on the blog and want you to know that you have my support. I commend you for deciding to get a divorce. Life is all about choices. You’ve a right to be happy and I know that it must have been a very hard decision for you.

  One of my favorite quotes is from the great movie Shawshank Redemption.
  It’s “Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying”. My take on this quote is that you have to decide to live life and make choices that might be tough. But by making those choices, you are choosing to decide your own fate and not let others dictate it for you.

  You will be in my thoughts and prayers.

  I wish the best for you and your children.

  God Bless.

  Mary Smith

• 9. Gigi&hellip  |  September 11th, 2009 at 3:43 pm

  I was at the same point you are now ten years ago. My life was upside down and inside out. The day I moved into my new place I flopped on the carpet of my completely empty living room & realized I could actually breathe. My daughter was 2 years old at that time. It was the hardest decision I ever made but 10 years later I am happily married (to someone else!!) and have 2 more children. Although there were many bumps along the way my 3 daughters know their mom was strong enough to stand on her own and lucky enough to have a second chance along the way. Even if I had remained single it was the best decision I made….to get out from under the clouds and stand in the sun again. Good luck, your life is so worth it!

• 10. Norma Walker&hellip  |  September 11th, 2009 at 3:45 pm

  Julie….Sometimes things are so difficult in life but one thing I hold on to is that in those difficult times I try to remember that God molds me into what He wants me to be. Sure it hurts and that is a human traite that we all have but we have the option of moving forward or staying stuck in the mud puddle that life has handed us. I also try to remember that God is in control no matter what comes along. Stay strong, moldable, loving to yourself, children, family and friends. May God bless you in all you do.
  I am one of your faithful customers and will remain so for a long, long time. I love your products and the wonderful people who work at SYT.
  God bless you dear,
  Norma Walker

• 11. Kathy Temkow&hellip  |  September 11th, 2009 at 3:52 pm

  Julie…my heart goes out to you and your family. My husband was critically injured in a single car accident several months ago. He was in the ICU for five weeks; for most of that time we weren’t sure he would make it. Suddenly, my entire life changed. Fortunately, we’ve been blessed with a great life and happy marriage. I’m not sure how I would have handled the trauma if not for the love and support of our family and friends…and my faith. The silver lining? I realized that life is short; you must wake up with a smile on your face and determination in your heart to make it the best day possible. You will get through this…some days you might not feel that you’ll make it. On those days, write your feelings in a very private journal. I found that having a journal with the good, bad and ugly helped me so much. Ironically, the bad days were easier because I could look back and realize that I’d had other bad days – and survived. My husband is healing with no permanent damage but we face daily challenges as he returns to “normal.” Some may say that you’re selfish for the decision you’ve made. Don’t believe it. You’ve made a very difficult choice to improve your family’s life; including your husband’s. May God be with you and your family on your journey. You will make it!!!

• 12. Teri Swatek Hamel&hellip  |  September 11th, 2009 at 4:07 pm

  Julie, I wanted to write to share my support in your decision to leave your marriage because Tony would’ve never taken that step, even after years in a “loveless” marriage. I’m happy for you!

  I’m also happy for Tony and Lauren and Logan.

  You are so right when you say, “Life is too short to live unhappy”. Paul and I have been telling Tony that for years, but he always maintained that he ‘married for life, divorce was not an option’ and that he didn’t want the kids to come from a broken home like both their parents did.

  Now, finally, you both can find happiness and the children will certainly benefit from their 50% Mom time and 50% Dad time. Under the circumstances, it really was the best decision!

• 13. Sharon James&hellip  |  September 11th, 2009 at 4:30 pm

  I came across the SYT site when looking for some special paper (which of course I found). While I love looking at all the special papers and accessories, I really look forward to reading your blog updates.

  I, too, found myself getting divorced after 18 years of marriage. I have two teenagers who have blossomed now that they live in a house without adults constantly arguing, yelling and crying. They look forward to their visits with their dad and his new family.

  Even if you think it was better with both of you there, it wasn’t. The kids always know something is going on. They often tell me how terrible they felt in situations where we thought they were unaware of what was going on.

  I love the poem posted today. My favorite line is “And you learn you can endure, that you really do have worth”. Believe that you have the right to be happy. It won’t always be easy. I still have those days. But the great freedom of spirit I feel most of the time is the real reward.

  God Bless You.

• 14. Colleen McLand&hellip  |  September 11th, 2009 at 4:42 pm

  Oh Julie,

  I hadn’t read your Wednesday e-mail until today. While it must be so hard for you, it took a tremendous amount of courage to change your situation (and your life). And to say good-bye to a dream that you’ve had for over 18 years…

  From what I know about you from your e-mails each week, I know that you will be okay and that you will thrive! My best to you and your children (and also to the man that you must leave behind).

• 15. Brenda&hellip  |  September 11th, 2009 at 5:02 pm

  I am also just catching up on posts and emails and such. My heart goes out to you.

• 16. Marilea&hellip  |  September 11th, 2009 at 5:51 pm

  I just read about your divorce and getting to “know” you through your blogs makes me know this isn’t an easy decision. The only reason I am still married after 50 years is because my husband and I love each other – I wouldn’t have stayed married if one of us didn’t love the other. A friend asked me years ago when she was going through a divorce. “Did you ever have that ‘wow’ feeling when you were with somebody?” And I said, yes, Jim, or I wouldn’t have married him! Sometimes I want to strangle him, but he’s still my safe place to fall and I’m his and if you don’t have that, it can’t be happy for anyone. My parents divorced when I was 13 but they were unhappy for years together ane we kids knew it and it was a miserable time for us.

  We all have our burdens. We have an autistic son (3rd child out of 4) and he wasn’t diagnosed til he was 5. That was and still is the biggest challenge for me and my husband, but we’ve survived and are still together. So many don’t make it through something like that, but our love has, through the good, bad and wonderful times. If it weren’t there, it wouldn’t work.

  Just know I feel your pain and pray it all works out for everyone.

• 17. Janet Senior&hellip  |  September 12th, 2009 at 12:29 am

  The poem from your friend is wonderful my best friend of 40 yrs has been asked to leave as he does not love her any more after 9 yrs. So I have sent her the poem it is so true and beautiful. Thank you for sharing… Janet

• 18. Stacy R.&hellip  |  September 12th, 2009 at 12:31 am

  Julie,
  This is my FIRST ever blog. So here goes: a) I love your wreath. You can’t look at a sunflower and not smile! b) As my good friend Andrea always says…better to be alone than wish you were! (You had more than enough wonderful advice from the nice women above so I thought I’d just go for the feisty stuff, including how happy you’ll be some day in the future when you actually get to make wild whoopy with someone who thinks you are the best thing since sliced bread and feels darned lucky to have you . c) On a purely business note…I just received in the mail today the last of my $170.00 worth of supplies (from the last two weeks) Would I be able to get into the drawing?? d) if not, I understand and I STILL think your website is the best scrapbook store ever…and I’ve been to stores in about 7 states so far…no one EVER has rugby stuff! Now he’s doing triathlons…so I’m combining your swim, run and bike stuff to create my own. By the way, the bags that the die-cuts come in are so high quality! I know that’s probably weird to notice…but I did. Also, I L-O-V-E my custom papers! Even my teenager loved them and she doesn’t like much these days!

  Be good to yourself!
  Stacy

• 19. Lorraine Hornig&hellip  |  September 14th, 2009 at 8:01 am

  I traveled a similar path with regard to my first marriage. One day, as I pondered my life, I had a very clear premonition of what the future would bring if I stayed in that relationship. Leaving was difficult and I felt like I had a watermelon in my stomach for about three months. Luckily, my children were not subjected to the issues that broke down my marriage and they continued to have a close relationship with their father. This year I celebrated my 18th anniversary with my new husband, who turned out to be everything I desired in a man. I was surprised to discover that a good relationship is not limiting…I found a personal freedom I never knew existed. Good Luck! The emotionally difficult times will not last forever. You will find peace…I guarantee it.

• 20. Barbara T.&hellip  |  September 14th, 2009 at 2:11 pm

  Julie:

  I can’t improve much more on what has been voiced above. Having gone through a difficult divorce over 35 years ago, I feel your pain. We had no children, but it was not easy nonetheless. In Feb, I will celebrate 35 years of wedded bliss with my “soul-mate”.

  Take comfort in what God has declared in Ps 30:5, …”weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning”.

  My prayer is that your days and nights will be filled with God’s “joy in the morning”. Find peace in Him.

  Barbara

• 21. Carole Patton&hellip  |  September 16th, 2009 at 12:53 pm

  Julie,
  This is one of my favorite quotes that I always try to remember:

  “Yesterday is history,
  Tomorrow is a mystery,
  And today is a gift;
  That’s why they call it the present.”
  Elleanor Roosevelt

  I love your company and I wish you the best as you continue your new life.