Bond Story Kit ~ This girl & this dog...

When the Ali Edwards Story Kit - Bond came out last month, I knew immediately one of the stories I wanted to tell.  It's a bond that has been in place since September of 2005 & I'm sure it will remain that way forever.  The bond is between Megan and our Golden Retriever Jazmine {Jazz}.

I've been taking a few Ali Edwards classes this year ~ Storytelling with Project Life & Hello Story and have felt encouraged and challenged to write more stories within my pages.  The fact really hit home with me last night as I was looking for an old photo and started looking through our family albums.  I had written a story about when Matt was 3 years old and the things he used to say or how he set off the house alarm when I was in the shower... I never would have remembered those things if I hadn't taken the time to write them down.  

So this story of Megan and Jazz is an important story ~ it needs to be told so that years from now, we can remember and enjoy it.  Heck... every story we tell is important.  Get them down, tell those stories regardless of the length.  Add the facts, the emotions, the background details... just get them down on paper.

Page details:

• The story is printed on a 12x12 piece of lightly textured white cardstock.  I have a Canon Pixma wide carriage printer.   In light of the way the page layout came together, this could easily be printed on a 8 1/2 x 11 & attached to the layout base.
• The photo was a selfie that Meg took on her phone and texted to me... not the best quality, but I didn't get hung up on that.  It's super cute and this page is more about the story.
• Almost all the supplies are from the Bond Story Kit and Story Stamp set ~ "bond", cork banner, plus signs, white heart, "better together" rubber circle, and both stamps.  The sticker letters are from Simple Stories, the pattern paper is from the Felicity Jane London Kit, and I added a date stamp.  The ink is from Stampin' Up! and Memento.   

Journaling on my page:

There is a special bond between this girl and this dog. It doesn’t seem to matter how much time has passed ~ a few minutes or several weeks, as soon as they see each other, a smile appears and a tail will wag.  

When it began…
They met on September 3, 2005. We drove up to Grand Rapids, Michigan to look at a litter of Golden Retriever puppies. Megan and Matt were 8 and 6 years old. There were 9 puppies in the litter ~ 5 girls and 4 boys. One of the girls had been spoken for, so we played with the other 4 sweet baby girls. There was one puppy that kept making it’s way to Megan’s lap; she wore a tennis ball green colored collar. Ultimately, that sweet puppy fell asleep on Megan & we all knew she was the one for our family. A few weeks later we picked her up to bring her home & named her Jazmine ~ Jazz for short.

Over the years…
There have always been lots of cuddles, kisses, and selfies between these two. Jazz knows how to cheer Meg up like no other. We joke that Jazz is afraid of her own shadow, but she would do anything for Megan.  Jazz won’t push any doors open with her nose or her paw, unless Megan is on the other side. Every morning, she pushes her way into Megan’s bedroom to wake her up. Meg doesn’t seem to care and gives her a smile, a pat on the head, and a kiss before falling back to sleep. Then Jazz lays next to her bed and waits patiently for her to get up.  

When they are apart…
They miss each other terribly when Megan is away at college. Jazz will continue to nudge the bedroom door open each morning & is disappointed to see an empty bed. During the day, when we can’t find her in her usual napping spots, we usually see her upstairs sleeping on Meg’s bedroom floor. We often text photos of our sweet pup and occasionally included Jazz on a video chat so Meg can see her face. Last fall, Tim even took Jazz for an RV ride to IWU so they could spend a few hours cuddling together when it had been a particularly stressful week at school.

The reunion…
When they see each other after several days, weeks or months, it’s always a joyful reunion for both. A very happy day for sure and Megan knows she will be covered in lots of “magical fibers of love and joy” {dog hair}, so she better have the lint roller on hand ~ but who cares, they are together!

Have a wonderful weekend and
make some memories!