She Did It! And So Can You…

I’ve heard it said that one is blessed if he or she has one best friend throughout their life. I’m a lucky girl because I have so many dear friends and I cherish my relationship with each and every one. A few days ago I celebrated with a special friend. It was her birthday and I want to tell you about this special lady who is my best friend forever.

Monica Wihongi walked into my life nearly 17 years ago. In 1992, she was a shy, unassuming girl—skinny as a twig and just a teenager. She worked for a company located in the next-door complex as Close To My Heart’s old offices. One day, she stopped by and began this amazing conversation. She began to tell me that she didn’t know how or why but she felt she was supposed to meet me and perhaps help me with my company. By the time she walked out the door, I had offered her a job in data entry. Little did I know we would be friends for life. Since that time, we’ve been through so much together. Monica quickly rose from data entry to office management to a leading role as an event planner for Close To My Heart. I saw her grow personally, too, from blushing teenager to a wife and mother. And today, Monica is Close To My Heart’s Vice President of Events, Training, and Consultant Services—heading up a large team, a serious budget, and some of the biggest strategic initiatives of the company. She’s also the mother of SIX beautiful children and manages to juggle a busy household and a busy career without ever mismatching socks or forgetting to accessorize. Happy birthday, Monica—and thank you for your years of loyal service and most of all your pure and true friendship!

Now as much as I love Monica, I have to let you in on a secret: she’s never been a die-hard scrapbooker. Oh, she’s wanted to, all right, and she’s even created a few scrapbooks over the years (she says she loves our how-to books “Cherish” and “Reflections”). She is great at papercrafting and knows everything about the products and the industry. And heaven knows she has plenty of photos of her family and ample access to the best products on earth. But like many women, Monica has struggled to find the time, the organization, to get her scrapbooks REALLY moving and to stay current. Well, I’m thrilled to announce that Monica just completed an entire album in a couple of days, thanks to the Close To My Heart Album Retreat! To prepare for the event, she decided to create each of the 11 layouts beforehand; photos, journaling, and all. She was excited by the ease of the instructions, the completeness of the patterns, and how beautifully each layout came together—I wouldn’t be surprised if this experience gave her the momentum to keep going strong! When she shared her pages with those who attended the retreat, she positively glowed.

I promised that I’d be sharing some of the layouts we created, and I thought it would be fun to showcase Monica’s completed artwork. Enjoy the layouts. It might make you want to plan to join us at our next Album Retreat. Just know that YOU CAN find the time, the tools, and the inspiration to make your layouts—and your memories—shine just like Monica!