Unplugged recap...

i've been meaning to come and post about the day that i totally unplugged. But guess what...the challenge helped me so much that i haven't been online as much overall! In case you forgot what i'm referring to, Jodified mentioned something on her blog about unplugging from the computer, internet, phone & television for 24 hours. i decided to do it on Mother's Day so i could spend the day with my boys...totally and fully connected to THEM. And guess what it was AWESOME. Not that i was surprised by that part of it. What i have been surprised by is that over the last few weeks i've been finding myself connecting more on a face to face way. Which over the last few years has seemed to have become lost a bit. For me it hasn't been so much with my guys, more with others. We can stay connected through other avenues...facebook, email, cell phones, etc. Not that i'm going to completely unplug from those places entirely, just making an effort to stay fully IN life, not just wired to life.

One more thing, this weekend at RiverTree, Greg Nettle spoke about how our DNA has wired each of us to connect with God in a different way. Such as serving others, through nature, contemplation, etc. He had 5 other people speak about how they are wired to connect to Him. It was a cool message. One exciting things about the advancements in technology, it allows me (or you) to hear the rest of this series, even once we're back home and unable to attend RiverTree. Click here for audios of their messages.

As you've probably noticed i haven't been blogging or posting much lately. This week, Jameson & i are away visiting family and friends. Lots of fun times that i'll be sharing bits and pieces of but not now. For now i'll be making memories and if the stories float around and makes it from my brain to the computer, you'll be hearing about them at that point! So what pieces of technology have you taken to but may find you have to readjust a bit?

Revelations 3:8

One Door Closes...Another opens

"I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name." Revelations 3:8

When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, trust Him fully and let go, only 1 of 2 things will happen, either He will catch you when you fall, or He will teach you how to fly!

Shine 09

Today was the annual Shine project for FCC. For 3 hours on a Saturday in May we serve the community. James & i were leaders for the group that was painting the park near our house. It is amazing what 3 hours of manual labor can do to a faded park. i am so grateful for the members of our team...the park looks great now! The photos above show the before and after. It looks so much better now. Even the little ones got involved. Jameson was so excited to help out. He was actually painting quite a bit. Look at the paint splatter all over his face & clothes. Luckily I got his new shoes off before they got paint all over them too. Never too young to serve!

Online reading...

i'm not sure if it is a good thing or not but i have been getting lots of reading done online lately. i don't seen to ever read from an actually book or magazine in my hand anymore. As the summer is approaching i'm sure this will change slightly but for now, i'm online charging my brain. One article i read was here. It is mainly about photography but there are so many other pieces to it that it applies to artist in general, actually anyone really. There were two main points that i gained from this piece.

• Being creative and being inspired are two totally separate things. i know i've always thought that but this article really put the words behind the thoughts i'd had about it.
  
• "Success is continuing to try in the midst of repeated failures because we believe that there is a solution to the problem we are working on and that it is only a matter of time until we find this solution. In this respect failures are nothing else but valid attempts that did not materialize into the outcome we expected."

Another piece that i read was all about the benefits of using gmail and other google gadgets. Read about it here.

In other news i found out this week that i won't be presenting a session at the ADPi convention this summer. This is a relief for me. Since i've switched positions the session i was going to lead was in the old area (alumnae). It will be good to be on the recruitment side of things instead of feeling like a cross-over. i'm sure there will be times that i'll be pulled in both directions but i at least won't have to be nervous about presenting (because as many of you know speaking in front of a group is not my true cup of tea).

Tomorrow a group of us from FCC are going to be working on an outdoor painting project for Shine '09. i'd like to ask that you pray for us that the rain will hold out long enough for us to work on dry equipment and that all of the other volunteers out there will be able to shower our county with these 3 hours of service.

Unplugging!

Okay so i know most of you that know me realize that i can be a bit obsessive. Well the focus lately has been on twitter. On Tuesday i think i updated about 2 dozen times...too much for a normal day but there was a reason for that day. One it was Jameson's birthday and it was a quick easy way for me to update our activities. The other reason was that it was Jesus Loves You day and i was spreading the truth that He loves us. So now i'm going to go the other direction. i just read about this idea on Stacy Julian's blog & Jodified's blog about unplugging for an entire day. No internet. No TV. No Phone. No Computer...for 24 hours. i'm choosing this Sunday as my day. i will be at church in the morning and with my two guys the rest of the day (so no need for a phone to be contacted in case of emergency). i'm actually excited about it. Last summer every weekend i would walk away from the computer. i need to remember to do that throughout the year, not just when the weather pulls me away. How about you, do you realize you have an obsessive personality and do you know how to counteract it?

Did you notice the lowercase i's throughout this post? Yesterday the Proverbs 31 devotional was written by Marybeth Whalen. The verse was "He must become greater; i must become less." John 3:30 Notice the lowercase i..."we don't need to be capitalized. We need to be small, insignificant".

Fun-filled weekend!

Wow have we had a fun-filled weekend! It basically started Friday, with Western Day at school! They had a horse drawn wagon, a goat named Ding-Dong, hamburgers on an open flame, stick horse races, horseshoes and best of all...cowboy hats for everyone. Look at how cute this little guys looks! Then later that afternoon James' mom (aka MC/Nana Susan) and Joe-Joe arrived. James even came home a bit early from work! We had a nice relaxing evening here at the house.

Then on Saturday we had Jameson's birthday party...at Home Depot. Oh boy was he excited! So our plan for the day was for Susan & me to get dropped off at Home Depot while the guys went to do something else. Well Jameson wanted to help set up for his party, and he actually did help! His party was all about what he is into these days...The Home Depot and Chick-fil-A. Add in a mix of friends and family and you've got his utopia. The entertainment was that the kids each got to made a wooden wheelbarrow planters. Jameson got done with his before most of his friends arrived so he was entertaining himself with a tape measure. He thought it was the best when it would fly off the end of the boards...simple joys! After everyone was done with the project we enjoyed chicken and cake. The cake was adorable and not only did it look great, it tasted even better! Jameson even wanted to cut it himself, luckily the cutting tool was just a putty knife! Overall the party was a great success and Jameson is starting to look forward to being 4. He keeps asking if he is already 4 or if he has to wait until his official birthday (Tuesday). So funny the different ways he always looks at things. And now I'll answer the question that you're probably thinking, yes we had his party at Home Depot. No they don't typically do parties there but I asked and the manager said yes. We did find out that they aren't really supposed to do it but since they had told us already they went ahead with ours. So if you have a little boy that is also obsessed with HD, you most likely won't be able to have a party there.

After the party we headed up to Split Creek Farm to check out the baby goats. Caroline & Lily were also going so Jameson had someone else his same size (a common question when we're going somewhere). Jameson thought it was hilarious that the goats would try to eat his clothes. He and Nana Susan each had little nibbles from the little goats! This photo of Jameson & Lily was right before Jameson gave Lily a kiss. They are so funny together!

The next activity for the weekend came today. The Fanello girls were all receiving their First Communion. It was nice to get to spend this special time with them and lots of extended family from Ohio. After mass we all headed back to their house to spend some time together. During mass the Priest mentioned something that I thought was very interesting. He said that in Eastern cultures women with small children will bring them to the altar for communion; and it is given to both mother and child. However in Western culture they must wait until the age of reason. The part that has stuck with me throughout the day was that this church has given the age of reason a specific age. Is it possible to set a specific age on when a child is old enough to reason? In my mind, welcoming Jesus into your heart to choose to follow him on a daily basis varies person to person.

More updates will be coming in the next few days. Jameson has his birthday celebration at school tomorrow and then we had the official birthday on Tuesday. For anyone that are on twitter, Tuesday is going to be Jesus Loves You day...join in on the challenge!

Giving...

In the digital scrapbooking world something wonderful is going on today through the end of the month. An additional $4 will be donated to the Autism Speaks fun through the purchase of the current Songbird Avenue kit. I actually picked up the kit earlier this month and have so enjoyed playing with it. Some of the Mother's Day gifts I've been created include pieces from this great kit.

"An Overwhelming Need: Today, nearly 27,000 children age 5 and younger will die of preventable causes. That's about 18 children every minute. Compassion's ministry focuses on preventing these deaths and releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name. But we can't do it without you." As quoted from the Compassion International website.

In world news...have you heard about World Malaria Day? Through Compassion International you can help out by donating just $10 which will purchase a mosquito net to help prevent the spread of this awful disease. Click here to help. And if you're interested in giving more to Compassion through sponsoring a child to release them from hunger...let me know. I signed up to share the information with our small group (aka Life Group) and compassion sent me packets for some children. I will be sharing the information with our LG but also thought I would put it on the blog so that if anyone else is interested, the files for 4 children are at my house.

'For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Matthew 25:35-36

Integrity

Wow...today I was catching up on my blog reading and was reading the Compassion blog. They were talking about living with integrity and what it means to them.

To live with integrity:

• means we don’t compromise our faith in Christ.
• means the small things matter.
• means life can feel lonely.
• reflects the character of God who dwells within us.
• requires intention.

This is some list and I personally strive to fulfill a similar list with intention.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24

Making a difference...

Choosing to make a difference is something that is near and dear to my heart. Last night James & I had the opportunity to attend a dinner with our friends L.C. & Sarah. Sarah's friend Martha Marie recently joined a group called Caroline's Promise. They are bringing their ministry to South Carolina. Their mission is to spread the word about adoption.

“Your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” Matthew 18:14

The keynote was given from Robby Mitchell. He was abandoned at the age of 3 and lived in an orphanage for the remainder of his childhood. It was interesting to hear his story as someone who was not adopted and has succeeded in life. He started following Christ shortly after leaving the orphanage. If you'd like to help share the vision of Caroline's Promise they do have a group on Facebook or you could sign up to brown bag it ones a week to help fund this ministry.

Something else I wanted to bring to your attention. Have you heard of TOMS shoes? This is a company that for every pair of shoes that are purchased a pair of shoes is given to a child in need. So tomorrow (4/16) they are asking everyone to go without shoes in an attempt to bring more attention to their company. I'm going to go without shoes but I don't run into too many people since we don't typically leave the development. I can however spread the word through the blog. So check out their site and if you're in a position to go without shoes, do it and help spread the word about One for One.

Week prior to Easter...

Here we are the week prior to Easter. This time of year the excitement is in the air, especially at FCC. They are anticipating nearly double the normal attendance. We're doing our part by going to the early service and we're taking Greg along! I can't wait to hear the message. If you're in the area and want to join us, let me know!

In preparation for Easter I just read that Rachel Olsen is exploring the readings that Jesus did the week prior to the cross. Sounds like a very interesting study of the bible. Want to join me in this reading?

I also thought I would share another CT project that I did a few weeks ago. The kit hadn't been released yet so I couldn't post it earlier. It is such a simple little thing that I just printed out on the printer here at home and slipped into a plastic frame (the kind with the magnet on the back). It is fun to have fresh pictures on the lockers while I create in the office.

Later this week we will officially be in on spring break at our house. Jameson has one more day of school, which will consist of crazy hat day and an egg hunt. We're excited to have some extra time together. I'm planning to come up with some special activities here at the house and possibly some day trips. Does anyone have any suggestions for fun things to do with a wild almost 4 year old boy that loves car. The only thought I've come up with is to create a cool road one night after he goes to bed so he wakes up to it. If the weather cooperate we may do some day trips or something. Tomorrow it is supposed to possibly snow here. Is it really April? Okay I'm off to have dinner with some friends!

St. Patrick's Day!

The shamrock is the traditional symbol because St. Patrick used it to explain the connection between the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit in the Christian religion. (source unknown)

We don't necessarily celebrate this holiday because we're Irish or that we believe in luck but because it is FUN!! I love an excuse to eat a certain color of food and to dress a certain way. So today we're having green jello and a few other fun things...like green peeps!

Here is a little story from my past regarding St. Patrick's day. When I was in the first grade our teacher told us that the leprechauns had visited our room the night before St. Patty's. My math book was missing when I got to school. She kept insisting that it was the leprechauns. To this day I don't remember ever getting that book back. Those little guys must have been strong, maybe they were hungry and at the paper?!

Do you have any fun St. Patty's Day stories?

Praying...

"Keep on praying." 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT)

I've recently been reading quite a few things regarding prayer. One spot was in a devotional from the Proverbs 31 author Rachel Olson (she is great!). She spoke about how busy our lives are and that many times we may tell someone that we are going to pray for them but in our busyness we forget. In the devotional she suggested that instead of saying you would pray for them to pause right then TO pray for them. I have been doing this every since I read the devotional and I can already see a change in my prayer life with our Lord.

The second thing that I read was also by Rachel. Her blog post from earlier this week offered some great suggestions for anyone that is nervous to pray out loud, which would include me. It talks about praying words from the bible. Some great things!

What suggestions do you have regarding prayer?

Spring has sprung!

Wow have we had a real taste of spring here today! I'm almost in shock at how nice it was since we just has SNOW here this past weekend. Today it was 75 degree, sunny and just simply beautiful. Not only was the weather great, the activities for the day were dreamy too. For me it started out with not waking up to an alarm clock and then getting a few things done around the house (laundry, checked email, blogged, etc). Then I had the pleasure of taking pictures for some new friends from church. Amanda and Dave are expecting their second baby, SOON! She hasn't had maternity shots taken with this pregnancy or with Noah so I offered to take a few shots for her. They came out and we had fun (well at least I did!) taking some pictures. After getting a few with their whole family, James & Dave headed out for a round of golf. We stuck around the house to take a few more pictures and to let the little boys play together. Jameson was so stinkin' sweet to Noah (who is 20 months old). At one point Jameson had a picture from Disney and he was telling Noah all about what he was doing in the picture, who he was with and where it was from. This evening when we were doing prayers before bed Jameson told me that he wanted to pray that he could play with Noah again sometime soon. So sweet! My favorite shots are posted below!

Today I hosted the blog at A5D. There is a little tutorial on the rule of three and creating this hybrid scrapbook layout, take a look here. Another recent project included this birthday card (both projects are clickable for details).

While I was in Ohio I got to go see the movie He's just not that into you, with some friends from college. It is such a fun movie. I had actually purchased the sound track before I even saw the movie. Lots of variety...great fit for my ADHD mind! I can't wait for the dvd to come out, this might become my new Pretty Woman! (For anyone that doesn't know, in high school I used to watch this movie almost every single day while I would do my algebra or calculus homework.)

Speaking of movies, our house has been overtaken by HSM3 (High School Musical 3 for those that might have been under the same rock as I was before this week!). We borrowed the movie from the Ratliff family and every.single.day since Jameson has requested to watch it. I'm not sure if is the basketball that he enjoys or the singing and dancing. Either way he really likes it. These pictures were taken during one showing when he was 'dancing' along with Troy!

Today the post on the compassion international blog is great. Check it out here. I love the image of the father holding the child's hand with the verse "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" Joshua 24:15. This is one of my favorite verses. Paired with this picture...awesome!

What have you been doing this weekend with the warmer weather? Tomorrow our family is going hiking with some other families from church...awesome stuff!!

Be Mine...

On this day of love I thought I would post this reminder of the ultimate love... "He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life" (John 3:16, The Message). Long after the gifts we might give or receive today God's love for us endures. Jesus showed His love for us and taught us how to live and love each other. He received criticism, testing and rejection -- and yet gathered strength from God to turn the other cheek. Jesus prayed for us, and His enemies. He even suffered crucifixion in order to save us from our sin. Jesus is God's perfect expression of love. His life and death are God saying to me and you, "Be Mine." (extracted from Proverbs 31 devotional)

Treasures...

"Your word I have treasured in my heart…" Psalm 119:11a (NAS)

This verse reminds me of February for some reason. I love the month of February (I know it is still January but we're very close to Feb)! Not sure if it is because of Valentine's Day, more time to spend inside or that I know I always get to see adpi friends. Whatever the reason, I'm excited! And this year not only do I get to see adpi friends, I also get to visit with lots of other friends and family in Ohio.

Our week has been so much fun so far! On Monday Sarah called and asked what we had going on. We actually didn't have much going on so we agreed to come hang out with them for a bit. Then her husband called and said that his business trip would definteily require him to stay overnight. So Jameson & I had stayed with them. It was fun for the boys to have a little sleep over. Then Tuesday we got up and headed down to Buford to meet up with my friend Carol and her daughter. Carol & I advised together at Mount Union many years ago. She also attended Ashland but was ahead of me in school so we didn't actually know each other at AU. It was so much fun hanging out with two sisters earlier this week!

Verses!

With Christmas literally right on our heels, I've had the urge to read through some verses that remind me of this awesome season.


Luke 2:15-16...When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.



Isaiah 9:6...For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.



Rachel Olsen is doing an advent countdown with short daily devotionals. Check it out!





On the home front we're back in order from out trip. The laundry is done and the kitchen is restocked ($250 at walmart, why is it that I let things get so low? And there wasn't any meat involved in this total. One of James' coworkers shot a deer and we purchased the meat from the butcher). I'm still suffering from my sinus infection, today is day one of the antibiotic so hopefully I'll be turning a corner soon. I have a few more Christmas gifts to make. I've been plugging away at it and did get 4 things done yesterday. Here is one gift that I can share because it has already been given! These coordinating shirts are for Jeb & his baby brother Caleb. I used this kit and this one.

Now Jameson and I are off to create some fun button, paper, pin tree to decorate the house. I got all of the supplies out and into bowls so the assembly should be fun for both of us! I'll post pictures! Hope you're having a wonderful December and enjoying all of the magic of this awesome season!

Christmas gifts!

I have been making so many Christmas gifts this year and I'm loving every minute of it. In the past I didn't really think people enjoyed the things that I was making for them but in the last few months it seems that some have actually requested them. So this year I am attempting to make something for everyone on our gift list. The downfall is that I'm about to bust with excitement when I finish something. Typically I would post about it so I could share it with someone (yes I can show the boys in my household but they just don't get it all the time!). Two gifts however were already given so I can share the info with you all! Last year Ali Edwards shared what she did to record the Christmas season. So this year I decided to give it a go. But instead of just making 1 album I made 3 and gave two as gifts. This gift does come with work because the recipient has to add to it as the month of December goes on. Here is the album before the month begins. I had so much fun picking out random things to put in here and am getting so excited to start filling it with memories! I'll show you the completed album again in January.

Tomorrow also marks the start of Advent. Last year I started a tradition that each day we pull a slip of paper out of our advent box. The slips include various things like activities, treats or acts of service. I'll keep you posted on how this goes too. Jameson didn't get into it too much last year but this year I believe it will be enjoyed!

So are you making any gifts this Christmas season? Share yours with me!

Thanksful for...

“Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.” Psalm 118:19 (NIV)

Here is a limited list of the things I'm thankful for right now:

• Family to share a wonderful Thanksgiving feast (pictured here are the pies that dear hubby prepared).


• A little boy that says he is thankful for: His 4-wheeler, motorcycle, our house and God (his words exactly). Isn't he the cutest, here he was praying while practicing for his upcoming school performance.


• The bible to be able to read and learn from on a daily basis.


• A wonderful, providing husband that loves me for who I am, quirks and all!


• The many friends that we have, both locally and from a distance.

I am thankful for so many others who are using their talents to help others in creative ways...

• Each month Songbird Avenue has a new kit and the proceeds go to a different charity. This month they are supporting toys for tots. Get a digi kit for yourself while helping out at the same time.


• By sponsoring a child through Compassion International we have the ability to share the love of Jesus with a child in a foreign land.

In other news, over the weekend we headed to Charlotte to stay with a friend of James'. We went downtown to go ice skating. It was so funny to watch the little ones on the ice. Jameson did go around about 10 times and seemed to enjoy it. Syd didn't like it so much. Here she is watching Jameson try to get his skates off. We're happy to be home again preparing for our upcoming trip to Disney. I am beyond excited to take this little boy (and big boy for that matter) to the happiest place on earth!!

Creating!

Boy have I been on a creating binge lately. I love it but I can tell that I'm neglecting some other areas of life - mainly sleep! We're heading out of town this weekend so I'm excited to spend time with family and take a break from making things, I'll focus on making some memories!

Yesterday Jameson & I did some baking - one of our mommy & boy activities that we both enjoy! We made some cute little bear faced muffins. He doesn't like this picture, actually asked me to delete it and take it again - such a big personality for such a little boy!

I have a couple of fun things to share...I wrote up instructions on how to create a hybrid clipboard for the digichick blog. I also just found that I was selected to be a November guest for Plain Digital Wrapper. And I'm super excited to let you all know that I'm now on the CT for After Five Designs. I've also recently accepted the duty of hybrid project coordinator for The Daily Scrapper. This is an online publication - which I have a fun wreath spotlighted in for the issue that comes out this Friday. For future issues I'll be on the lookout for some other talented hybrid artists. If that is you, leave me a link so I can check out your gallery!

I had a friend call me earlier today to let me know about a great deal that Oprah is offering through snapfish - a free bound book, it is only good until midnight on Friday so go now! Click here!

Back to personal matters, when I was putting Jameson down for nap I was singing to him (he is the ONLY person that I have or will ever sing to). I have been singing the same songs since he was a witty bitty babe (Jesus Loves Me and Go Tell it on the Mountains). For the first time he actually sang along with me. So sweet. I love this boy so much it hurts my heart sometimes. Earlier this week we were watching tv and there was a section that was talking about Thanksgiving. The characters were talking about what they were thankful for so I asked Jameson what he was thankful for. He said, "my four-wheeler". Then I asked him who he was thankful for the four-wheeler. He looked right at me and said "God". I do hope he always remembers that everything that we have is because of our God.