I decided it was time to give the blog a slightly updated look. So, I created some snowflake graphics to make a new header. What do you think? Now that I have my art out of my system, I can move on.... ;-)

Gray Days

Oh, winter days can be SO gray! I am amazed how dark it still looks outside even at mid morning. Days like this make me want to curl up under an afghan with a cup of tea and a good book and just forget about everything else! But life doesn't usually allow this, so I am plugging on.

Now that the busy-ness of Christmas is passing (but I do still have decorations to pack away), I am feeling like it is time to take stock in how we utilize the hours of our day. I haven't had much time to think about this for months between building, moving, and Christmas preparations. Now is the time to sit back, take a deep breath, and ask God for Wisdom. I want Him to order our days. I want to know how He needs me to teach and direct our children. I don't know why, but sometimes I can feel SO lost in this area. Perhaps that is because God desires me to turn to Him. I have to do this because I feel like I cannot do it on my own.

Do you ever feel like the days are just slipping away and you have wasted them? I look at my children and see how fast they are growing and worry that I am not making the most of the time that I have with them. There is so much for them to learn - that God has appointed me to teach them. I feel so overwhelmed and inadequate when I really think about it! So, I guess that means I need to take some time and spend it in quiet conversation with God. A time that I can ask Him these questions (oh SO many questions) and time to just "be still and know that He is God" - to listen to what He has to say.

BTW, this my lovely daughter, Anna. It was taken during our Christmas celebration with Barry's side of the family. I am not sure if it is a self-portrait or if her big sister snapped it. I'll have to ask them, but either way, I think it came out nice and really shows Anna's sweet and tender disposition.

Merry Christmas!!!

Yes I realize that Christmas day was two days ago, but I still consider this time "Christmas." Technically it is still during the 12 days of Christmas and I actually find this time more peaceful than that hub-bub and busy-ness of the Advent season. It is a time to reflect and take stock in life's blessings.

I decided to give myself a few minutes to surf the web this afternoon while there was a moment of quiet in the house and came across this wonderful essay on Stacy Julian's blog titled "One Solitary Life."

He was born in an obscure village
The child of a peasant woman,
He grew up in another obscure village
Where he worked in a carpenter shop
Until he was thirty.

He never wrote a book,
He never held an office,
He never went to college,
or owned a house.
He never visited a big city,
In fact, he never travelled more than
two hundred miles from the place where he was born.
He did none of the things
Usually associated with greatness;
He had no credentials but himself.

He was only thirty three when the
Tide of public opinion turned against him.

His friends ran away
One of them even denied him.
He was turned over to his enemies,
And went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.
While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing,
The only property he had on earth.

When he was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend.

Nineteen centuries have come and gone;
And today he is still the central figure of the human race,
and our perfect example in all things.
All the armies that have ever marched,
All the navies that have ever sailed,
All the parliaments that have ever sat,
All the kings that ever reigned, put together,
Have not affected the life of man on this earth
As much as this one solitary life.

Loved this and had to post it if nothing more than just for myself so that I could easily find it to read it again.

Hope Christmas has been a special time for everyone else - a time to remember that no matter who we are, we have been blessed beyond measure!

Fa la la la la....

Yesterday was officially "cookie day!" Officially, there were 10 of us with our fingers in the cookie dough (me and my 4 children, my friend, Wendy and her 3 daughters and my friend, Laura). We turned out sugar cookie cut-outs, thumbprints, and candy cane cookies. Wendy brought some candy fixin's and we made bun bars and turtles, too. I had never tried this and was amazed at how easy they were to do. I will probably try this again next year, too.

I can't believe that my I forgot to bring out my camera ALL day. I didn't snap even ONE picture! Ugh! So, I decided to take a picture of all of our goodies piled high on my stove. This is just my portion! I think we will be sharing!!!

Last evening was my husbands work Christmas party. All the guys got a half day off and the boss took them all to an indoor go-cart track for the afternoon where they all had a blast! Then we ladies got to join in the fun for a dinner party in the evening which was at the Summit Club. It is located downtown on the top floor (25th) of one of our town's tallest buildings. The view was spectacular and you could see much of the downtown Christmas lights. It is a beautiful place and the food was excellent! It felt very pampering!

Barry has the day off today, so we will probably have a relatively lazy morning. I have been thinking about the things to get accomplished today and the list is still pretty long:

Sadly, although I have gotten my Christmas cards made, I still need to write them out and address them. I send out about 90.

Most of our wrapping still needs to be done yet. BUT, I think all of the shopping is complete with the exception of groceries. Yea! I ran around and did power shopping Wednesday afternoon/evening which included braving the mall. It was exhausting but proved worth it!

The children still need to be taken out shopping. I would like to let them each have the opportunity to shop for everyone in the family. For the little ones, that will probably be at the $1 store. Barry was feeling negative about letting them buy a bunch of "junk" but I pointed out that I really feel like it is important for them to get into the spirit of GIVING at this time of year and not just focus on GETTING. He did agree.

I need to plan out our menu for Christmas day and grocery shop. We will be going to church in the morning and won't be getting together with family until the next day, so it won't be our normal routine and will be just us, so I need to decide what kind of meals to prepare. Normally we just do cinnamon rolls in the morning and go over to my in-laws for a big lunch, but I don't think just rolls are gonna cut it for the whole entire day! ;-)

Also, I need to prepare the images for worship that will go on the screen for our church's Christmas Eve and Christmas day services.

Oh, and I forgot that I have a little bit of sewing to complete a couple of gifts. I won't elaborate here just in case one of the gift receivers is lurking!

I feel blessed that is all that is on my list! It still looks pretty doable and not overwhelming! I am going to try really hard to keep the joy in our home. I hate to admit it, but usually about this time of year the grumpy, stressed-out Trish makes her appearance. She is no fun to be around and I am praying and trying to keep clear focus on Christ this Christmas so that she is not tempted to show up and spoil the fun!

That's the way the cookie crumbles...

Ugh! why does the Christmas season always have to get stressful? No matter what, there is so much to do that at some point I catch myself getting "scroogey." I really do NOT want it to be this way! Today I plan on doing some last minute power shopping to wrap a few odds and ends. I pray that I can then be done and can check purchasing gifts off of my mental list of things to do.

Besides checking things off my list, one way I fight the "scroogies" is to put in my "Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas" video and sing along with all of the songs. Of course, to do this I have entire the groans and rolling of the eyes from my children, but it is definitely worth it!

Tomorrow should prove to be fun. A couple of my oldest and dearest friends and their wonderful children are coming over to bake Christmas cookies. We had originally planned to do this last week, but the night before the big day, 2 of my kids came down with a stomach flu and I had to cancel. Our entire household ended up getting sick. :( Hopefully, we are done with sickness for a while now! My friends and I always have difficulty finding a day that works for everyone, so I was so happy that we were able to reschedule for this week. This works even better because all the kids can come because they are now on Christmas break.

Last week, I made up a couple of batches of master dough from my "One Dough, Fifty Cookies" cookbook (which by itself is a wonderful butter cookie!) which is enough to make 4 different types of cookies. Since I needed to take cookies to a party, I used one batch to make coconut macaroons and chocolate toffee cookies. Anna helped with the former and from the photo above, you can see that Abi helped with the latter. (Somebody has GOT to taste the dough to make sure they will taste OK!)

One last note, I have been sitting here listening to some lovely Christmas music from this site: Pandora You tell the site the name of a song or a musical artist you like and it will create a "station" that plays similar songs. I typed in "What Child is This?" and it came up with several versions to choose from. I chose the Zoe Girl version and ended up with some great new Christian Christmas music. A very fun way to battle the scroogies!

Happy Birthday!!!

Yesterday was my baby girl's 2nd birthday! Her birthday began with birthday breakfast in bed consisting of 2 mini muffins decked out with birthday candles. This photo was taken at cake time in the evening which you can tell made her very happy!

From Henry David Thoreau:

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only
the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach,
and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

From the Bible:

"Give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs!
For if I grow rich, I may become content without God. And if I am too poor, I
may steal, and thus insult God’s holy name." Proverbs 30:8-9 (LB)

Direction for Today:

What would your life look like if you really had a simple life?

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life
in your years." -- Abraham Lincoln

(Taken from this article)

Just for kicks, I googled myself today to see what I came up with and discovered I was mentioned in this nice little article about the Photos of Faith contest I am involved with. Kind of fun!

I saw this on another blog (LOVED the dancing video, Lisa!) and I had to try it for myself. So here is a little spontaneous video I took this morning of my train-lovin' son being the conductor of our newly set up Christmas train.

The true meaning of Christmas: teaching our little ones about "Baby Jetaw" (as Abi would say).

Interesting article I stumbled upon this morning. (click on the image above to read it)
According to this article, there is a growing trend for business owners to become restrictive towards children in their establishments. The cafe in Chicago that is receiving so much publicity over this posted a cute sign saying, “Children of all ages have to behave and use their indoor voices.” And if that rule is broken, the parent will be chastised.

So, is this a symptom of a anti-child trend in society or merely a symptom of low expectations of behavior for our children? I am thinking that perhaps it is a little of both. Many business owners that are following this trend are in areas of cities where fewer families live and childless adults are the majority. I can say from my own experience, those who don't have children are FAR less tolerant of them. But, I am sad to say that far too often when I am out in public, I have witnessed atrocious behavior out of children and am amazed that their parent witnesses it and ignores it.

Now, I do not want to be accused of being the pot calling the kettle black. As a parent of 4 children, I have had more occasions than I would like to admit to where my own unruly children have been the culprits of public disturbances. But, through the experience of my 11 years of parenting I have (hopefully) gotten a bit better about keeping a rein on my children and have taught them about what kinds of behavior is expected in certain circumstances. Through these years I have also felt the icy chill of judgment when I walk into a public establishment with my 4 children in tow. I have had people judge me for even HAVING four children and also see them immediately assume that they will be misbehaved.

Since we have allowed God to dictate the size of our family, I really feel like we have to work hard not to be an embarrassment to Him. Perhaps that is why I can be keenly aware of uncontrolled children when we are out. Because I continually work on training my own little ones, I cringe when I see other parents letting their children call the shots and run wild. I have been there myself. It is A LOT of work to keep children in line. Especially when you are out trying to get something accomplished, it is exhausting to have to focus a large portion of your energy on disciplining your children.

I am seeing that training children while they are young has its benefits. A year or so ago, I was listening to a woman speak about home organization and child training. She was a funny lady told how often other parents would come up to her and say, "But your children are so much more well behaved. It is easier for you." She would laugh and ask them, "Well, where do you think I got them? Well-Behaved Children R Us? No, I trained them to be this way!" That has really stuck with me. I place a much higher priority now on training my children. It is a work in progress, I still have a long way to go, and we all have much to learn. I pray daily for God's wisdom and guidance on this journey so hopefully I won't be the one that the store owner taps on the shoulder to discuss my children's bad behavior! :)

God's Art

I am always amazed that some of the most splendid sunrises happen on the dreariest days! This is my view from my kitchen counter in my new home this morning. Our old home was blocked in by our outbuildings and I had to venture outdoors to catch one of God's morning art shows like this. Now there is nothing in the way of the lovely view. Within a half hour of when this was taken, the day became grey and dreary.

This shot was taken with my new toy; a Sony Cybershot (DSC-S60). I had mentioned that on the day of our house demolition, my camera quit. I went nearly 2 days without any camera and was in some serious withdrawal! I picked up this cute little camera clearanced at Wal-Mart. I chose this one because is has manual settings so that even though it is not our dream camera, I can begin to educate my girls a bit more about photography than I could with a straight point-and-shoot one.

For some reason everything electronic around me is acting kooky lately and I was unable to open PhotoShop this morning to tweak this image so this is straight out of the camera. This is definitely better than what my old camera could do. Of course my old camera was a mere 1.3 megapixel point-and-shoot. It did do a really good job for what it was, but I realized how extremely out of date it was when I could buy a 2.1 megapixel camera off the shelf at wal-mart for $39.95!

Anyway, I leave you with this thought: Even on the dreariest of days, we can remember that the sun is still up there, it is just obscured by the clouds. God is kind of like that, too. Even when things look bad, the SON is still present. That is when we need to rely on faith. "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the certainty of things unseen." (Hebrews 11:1) We know that He is still there with us, even through the storms of life!

Changes

Well, a lot has happened in the past few weeks! We got possession of our new home, moved in, closed on it and tore down the old. I type that all in one easy sentence, but the reality has been exhausting both physically and mentally. We are thrilled with our new home! The space is WONDERFUL! The kids are adjusting well and it has immediately felt like home for me. Perhaps the fact that we designed and thought about every square inch of this place, as well as being through it many times a day helped with that fact.

Today being Thanksgiving and thinking about what I am thankful for, I can't help but be grateful to God for the gift of this place. I am also so thankful for all of my dear family and friends that have been SO helpful.

I leave you with this great photo taken by my dad. Unfortunately, our last limping camera died on the day of the demolition :( so I have no photos of my own (but I do have video). It is of our old house literally biting the dust in the shadow of our new home.

May your walls know joy; May every room hold laughter and every window open to great possibility.~~ Maryanne Radmacher-Hershey

Obsession

I've not had a whole lot of time for blogging or scrapping are anything recreational lately. I have been focused on our new home pictured here. It is oh so close to completion and we have been busy making sure all the last minute items are done as well as packing to move into it. My current home is packed to the gills and I have been hard at work de-junking. I don't want to move junk into this beautiful new home! We may actually get occupancy by this weekend.

This lovely photo was taken by my hubby from the roof of our current home. He was up there to remove an antique weather vane that we want to save an took the camera up with him.

"I think too many times, we, as the church, stop well short of reflecting the greatness of the God we serve. Anytime we share the Great Story in the midst of mediocrity we tarnish the gospel. We need to be creative creators - reflecting the image of our God."
- Chris Ediger
a visual planet artist

Children are a Blessing

I just keep telling myself this! Children are a blessing....children are a blessing...over and over...say it with me....children are a blessing.....

In my heart I believe this, but a part of me is just not convinced today. I am just having a day that although I love my children, I am not liking them a whole lot today. Why is it that when things are stressful and there is a whole bunch to do, something happens to children. Normal routines that should work like clockwork disappear and they look at you and say, "Was I supposed to brush my teeth today? Oh, I shouldn't stay in my pjs?" Like this is some new chore you have just made up today. So frustrating that I have micro-manage my children as my friend calls it. "Now, put on your shirt, now button the first button, now button the next button......now get out the toothbrush, now put just a little bit of toothpaste on it." No, this is not my 22 month old I am talking to, or even my 4 year old, this is the type of things I have to say to my eight year old. On a day when I have a gazillion things on my brain and a billion things to do, my children all revert back to being helpless infants it seems. Even my normally really responsible 11 year old is slyly trying to skip chores today.

I guess the most frustrating part of their lack of discipline is that fact that I really have no one to blame but myself. It my job to train them and today proves that I haven't done my job very well at all. I pray that God gives me wisdom and strength. Wisdom to know how to discipline and guide them correctly and strength not to strangle one of them (just kidding - I really just need the strength to control the volume of my voice and not lose it and start yelling which has really been a temptation today.)

Stuff!

Too much stuff! We are planning on moving in about a week and a half to two weeks. My house feels like it is just full of piles and piles of stuff! I have been sorting and donating and packing, but I still feel like the piles have taken over the house. I am really trying to take a step forward in this battle today and get a grip on the chaos around here. I have been working like mad and I hope that by the time hubby gets home there will be a noticeable difference!

When God wants an important thing done in this world or a wrong righted,
He goes about it in a singular way.
He doesn't release thunderbolts or stir up earthquakes.
God simply has a tiny baby born,
perhaps of a very humble home,
perhaps of a very humble mother.
And God puts the idea or purpose into the mother's heart.
And she puts it in the baby's mind, and then - God waits.

The great events of this world are not battles and elections and earthquakes and thunderbolts.
The great events are babies,
for each child comes with the message
that God is not yet discouraged with humanity,
but is still expecting goodwill to become incarnate in each life.
Edmond McDonald

Art/Worship Journal

Some time ago, I happened upon Greta's blog and have really been enjoying it. She is a sister both in Christ AND scrapbooking! A couple of weeks ago, she discussed how she and some friends get together once a week and work on their art and worship journals. She says,

"we all had a passion to explore our creative interests and offer them as a form
of worship to god."

I love that! Perhaps, that's is because that is where my heart is also with the visual worship images I create for my church's services.

Anyway, they pick a word each week and each do an individual word study as to what the bible says about it. Then they create something to express this. Then they come together and discuss it. What a neat concept of a bible study! This week Greta let me (and anyone else who reads her blog) in on it and shared that this week's word was "control." I have enjoyed studying this word in the bible this week during my personal quiet time and it has given me much to think about.

When it came time to creating something, I really felt stretched to figure out how to visually represent what I have learned, but I plowed forward and you see the result here. I think Romans 8:6 makes a really important point here. It says,

"If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy
Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace."

What we all have to realize is that no matter what something controls us. We can choose to allow God's Spirit to control us which will bring us life and peace. If we don't consciously make that choice, or choose to try to be in control ourselves, then sin is what actually is in control. We need to daily be making the choice as to who is in control. Neglecting to make a choice is the same as choosing sin.

The plumb line at the right of my image represents God. He is what is straight and true no matter what is going on and what chaos surrounds me. I have listed a "line of control" down the side of this plumb line to remind me of the order of authority as set forth in scripture. At the same time that something controls me, I too, am put in authority (control) of things. For me, it is my home/household and my children.

Greta said she will be posting all of the journal pages that were shared with her in her blog soon. It will be fun and interesting to see what others have done with this.

Collage Machine 1.0

Want some fun creative play? Check out the collage machine.

Concentration

It is those who concentrates on but one thing at a time who advance in this
world. The great man or woman is the one who never steps outside his or her
specialty or foolishly dissipates his or her individuality.

The weakest living creature, by concentrating his powers on a single object, can accomplish good results while the strongest, by dispersing his effort over many chores, may fail to accomplish anything. Drops of water, by continually falling, hone their passage through the hardest of rocks but the hasty torrent rushes over it with hideous uproar and leaves no trace behind.
Mandino, Og
1923-1996 American Motivational Author Speaker

Give whatever you are doing and whoever you are the gift of your attention.
Rohn, Jim
American Businessman Author Speaker Philosopher

Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.
Sivananda, Sri Swami
1887 Indian Physician Sage

If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.
Unknown, Source

The ability to concentrate and to use time well is everything.
Iacocca, Lee
1924 American Businessman Former CEO of Chrysler

I happened upon this great little article that really spoke to me today, "How to Make Leaders out of Lackluster Followers." If you want to read it, just click on the image above. The first line of the article says, "Responsibility is a self-esteem steroid." The point of this is that the best way to build up someone's self-esteem and confidence is to give them responsibility. Of course, being a mother of four children, my thoughts immediately turn to them. I do give them responsibility to a certain extent, especially my oldest. The kicker is that the article continues to say that an overbearing, watchful eye is a self-esteem destroyer. I have to admit that at times I am guilty of this, especially with daughter number 2. She really needs constructive criticism, but I fear that I may be overly critical and not accomplishing my goals in helping her to improve. Wow! Something to really think on and pray for God's helpful guidance and wisdom!

Anticipation

My son, Patrick, and my nephew (shown here with my oldest daughter) just cracked me up the other day when we were together to celebrate Patrick's birthday. I told them they couldn't touch the cake. Patrick had picked it out at Marsh's and it was pretty cool. Not only did it have two real toy monster trucks driving over two matchbox cars, and 4 little flags, but it had MOUNDS of icing all air brushed to look like hills, a dirt road and water. They had to muster up every ounce of self control they had to keep their hands off of it!!! So there they both sit with their chins on hands staring!

In case you are interested, the journaling reads: "Oh! The torment! What cruelty it is to tell two four year old boys NOT to touch the birthday cake. And not just any cake! This one has mounds painted icing hills driven on by two monster trucks! The anticipation is almost too much! Elizabeth, Patrick, & Max Oct. 16, 2005"

I wanted a clean simple layout with just the right accent and Mo Jackson's birthday candles (www.mojackson.com) were just right!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my little buddy, Patrick who is a big FOUR years old today! His celebrating began on Friday when he went to storytime at the library and he got a birthday pin to wear and everyone sang Happy Birthday to him. Then we went over to Gramps and Grams for a birthday celebration lunch. Sunday we celebrated with the Richhart side of the family which includes his cousins and Grandma and Grandpa. We kept telling him that although we were celebrating, his birthday wasn't until Monday. This morning I told him to stay in bed because a I had a birthday surprise for him. He asked "Is today my birthday?" I was so glad to finally say YES! He is still young enough not to truly realize that he was going to get his birthday breakfast in bed - a tradition in our house. We all sang Happy Birthday to him and he dined on M & M/chocolate chip pancakes.

A Good Word

Here's a verse that I discovered during my quiet time this morning. Something about it struck a chord with me and I found it very uplifting and encouraging. I have been feeling very weak and overwhelmed lately with all I have to do.

For this verse to have more meaning, you should probably know the context it was taken from. This is from 2 Chronicles during a time when the kingdoms of Judah and Israel were split apart. Jehoshaphat was king of Judah. At this time he got intelligence reports that large "hoards of barbarians" from several enemy countries had banded together and were coming quickly to attack. Jehoshaphat called for a nationwide time of fasting and praying to God. They claimed their helplessness and the need for God and proclaimed Him strong enough to take care of ANY enemy. God spoke to the people of Judah through a prophet saying that all they had to was march out and stand firm and God would fight their battle for them. As they were getting ready to go out and face their attackers, Jehoshaphat said this verse,

"Believe firmly in God and your lives will be firm - you will be made
strong. Trust in the men who speak for Him, and you will do well." (2
Chronicles 20:20b -a paraphrase take from combining The Message
and the New Living translations)

They marched out boldly, but before they even reached their enemy it says that God set up "ambushes" for their enemies and the different groups coming to attack got confused and ended up attacking each other. By the time Judah reached them they were ALL dead on the field of battle!

What an example of God fighting our battle for us! What a wonderful thing to keep in mind as we go throughout our daily struggles. There is nothing too tough or too big for God to handle. According to this verse, all we have to do is BELIEVE. Believe firmly in God. He will make us strong; he will give us success!

Wings. Friends. Fries.

I am still playing catch-up. Here is another birthday layout from back in February. Pictures of my daughter having fun with her friends at Buffalo Wild Wings. If you go on their website, their slogan is "Wings. Beer. Sports. All the Essentials" I changed it a bit for the title since my 11 year old wasn't drinking beer and is not really into sports. :) I snagged the logos off the web.

Journaling reads:To celebrate her 11th birthday, Elizabeth chose to go out with a few old friends, Megan, Sarah and Cara. She decided to see a movie [Are We There Yet? graphic] followed by lunch at [Buffalo Wild Wings graphic] Someone came up with the idea of everyone tying balloons in their hair giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “tie one on.” After enjoying a fine dining experience of wings and cheese fries, we completed our celebration with birthday cupcakes. 02.19.05

Scrappin' Backlog

I am trying to catch up on some back photos. I just came to the realization that I need to start putting together my annual scrapbook "magazine" for my family that includes all of the past year's layouts and there are several key events that are missing. My daughter's birthday in February was one of them. I find that I do better scrapping the day to day events and procrastinate on the bigger ones. Maybe because I want to make them special.

Anyway, this one is about my daughter's birthday breakfast in bed.
Journaling reads:It has become a family tradition for our children that they get breakfast served to them in bed complete with a candle on their birthday. We all gather round and sing “Happy Birthday” and it is fun for everyone, because they all get to picnic upstairs with their breakfast - a treat because this is one of the rare exceptions to the no food upstairs rule in our home. For Elizabeth’s 11th birthday, she got eggs decorated with an “11” made out of ham, grapes and a cherry turnover which is a special treat. Anna and Patrick picnicked on the girls' bedroom floor and Abi got her morning bottle of milk to enjoy in her crib.

The main photo was a bit blurry due to the low light, but I love the expression on my dd's face and had to use it. I didn't think I should clutter up this page with too many goodies, so I kept the backgound black and just added a few doo dads from Mo Jackson's Birthday Candles set.

Interesting Encounter

Well, I am a little bummed at blogger. I had this post nearly written, saved it as a draft and everything but the title disappeared! I guess somebody up there didn't like it the way it was written! So, I will do this again.
Take Two:
Last evening I had an interesting encounter with an Amish gentleman at Wal-Mart. Let me clarify to those of you in other regions of the world. Encountering an Amish man in Wal-Mart around here is not in itself an unusual thing. There are several good-sized Amish communities in my neck of the woods. There are enough Amish around here that both the nearby Meijer and Wal-Mart stores have put up small shed barns in their parking lots for the sole purpose of having a sheltered place to tie up the horse and buggies.

Anyway...last evening I had to break down and make a trip to the grocery store so that I could feed my family dinner. Let's just say that my cupboards could have given Old Mother Hubbard a run for her money! I had just moved beyond Produce to the Frozen Foods section and was deliberating on which frozen treats were the best buy for my family (i.e. generate that most happiness for the money) when this Amish man who was alone with his cart said, "There are just too many things to choose from, aren't there?" I had been so engrossed in my food purchasing decisions, that I had not even noticed him there among the other shoppers. I looked up at him and agreed. There are too many things to chose from. He continues on talking about how he wishes things were simpler. I started to push along my cart, but he continues talking. I am beginning to think that I have a sign on my forehead that says, "I'm nice. You can tell me your life story and I will listen." He starts asking me questions about whether I go to church and where. If I have a family and how big. He shares that he is single and has actually lived in 42 different states. So, I decide that this is certainly NOT your typical Amish man. Most are born, live, and die in the same community. You don't go too far in a horse and buggy! He shares how he has gone to various types of churches of lived in many Amish communities. He said he has been in this area about 7 months and has been going to a church he really enjoys. I asked him where and he explained that it is an Amish church that meets in various homes and has some great bible study. He went on to talk about how he believes in marriage for life and how divorce is only ok on rare occasions and that remarriage is not right. He even quoted scripture (I think it was from 2 Corinthians.) that spoke against remarriage. He asked me about my husband and children. They were questions of a personal nature (especially for a impromptu conversation in Wal-Mart) but not so personal that I felt uncomfortable standing there talking with him. I finally decide that this man would probably talk all night and my children were still at home waiting for dinner, so I shook his hand and told him my first name and that I was glad to have met him. He said that his name was Nelson something. For the life of me I cannot remember his last name other than I think it began with E. I said maybe I would run into him again at Wal-Mart. As he pushed his cart away he said something about how I should come to church sometime. I can only assume he was referring to the Amish church which I thought was very odd. I didn't see anymore after that.

In retrospect I wish I would have asked him more about himself. Was he always Amish or did he convert? Like I said, he was atypical for an Amish man. He appeared to be in his forties, claimed to be single yet had a beard which I thought was a married thing. Perhaps he was divorced himself. I can't remember for sure, but I don't think he had a hat on either which seems unusual for an Amish man out in public.

The whole thing was odd, and I woke up this morning thinking about this encounter. I tend to be of a mind that nothing happens without reason. So, what was this? I can't help feeling that this was part of the Grand Plan and this encounter served some purpose - perhaps for my benefit or his. I realize that sounds really weird. Anyway, I thought I would share this since it is on my brain. Hopefully, if you have read this far, I haven't bored you all to tears!

Catching Up

Well, since my baby girls is now closer to TWO than one, I decided to scrap this favorite photo from her first birthday. I was inspired when I saw Doris Castle's Baby Powder Pink page set. It is perfect for this!

There was lots of tweaking going on in this photo: colorization, black and white conversion, multiple plug-in filters, and a slight sepia photo filter.

Hammock Cuddle

Did a quick page this morning with a photo I had been playing with. If you want to know what I did to enhance the photo, you can read about it here: Digital Art Tips.

I created the page using Doris Castle's A Beautiful Day page set. I thought the fun reds and blues balanced the black and white photo.

This is a photo taken last Wednesday at our local zoo of two of my kids enjoying the hammocks in what is call Dr. Diversity's Lab. It is part of their Indonesian Rain Forest section and it set up like a naturalist's camp. Their are lots of hands on things to see including sleeping quarters (the hammocks) which are favorite for my family.

Sadly, the zoo closed for the season yesterday. So theier will be no more fun visits like this until next April. :( At least we have this year's memories and, of course, our photos!

Interesting

Stumbled upon this little online quiz. You answer a bunch of theological questions and it tells you what your "theological worldwiew" is. Obviously, I have been quite influenced by my Methodist church upbringing!

You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists. Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 71% Fundamentalist 71% Neo orthodox 57% Reformed Evangelical 54% Roman Catholic 50% Emergent/Postmodern 50% Charismatic/Pentecostal 50% Classical Liberal 46% Modern Liberal 18% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

Psalm 32:!

Guilt :(

This is the house I live in. Look carefully, because in about a month, it will be gone. Yes, you heard me right. Gone. If you are wondering why, it is because the county planning commission will not allow us to have two homes on our property and the one seen here: Rich Hearts Home Building 101 wins out over this one.

This one is a four square style farmhouse that was built in 1920 which is pretty typical for this area. We bought it on October 31, 1998 along with the 3.74 acre parcel it was sitting on as well as 5 barns/outbuildings at auction. That's an exciting method of buying a home and we were thrilled to have won our own little piece of the country right next door to where my hubby grew up. The home was not exactly what we wanted and was long overdue for some TLC, but we planned on adding on and renovating. I have a background in architecture and we set about the task of designing our remodeled home. We went through MANY ideas, and finally came up with a plan that we gave to a couple of contractors to get a price. This plan included a 20 foot two story addition, a beautiful three sided wrap around porch and completely redoing the whole interior. It did not touch our 80 year old dank, damp, shallow basement. The price the first gentleman gave us totally blew us away. I could not even believe that he could give us that price with a straight face; it was so high! We went a slightly different route for our next bid and spoke to an amish man. His price was cheaper, but did not include ANY mechanicals (heat, A/C, plumbing, electrical) because he preferred not to put those in. So, his price ended up being in the same ballpark as the first. So, we went back to the drawing board. We researched a smaller, simpler addition and renovating the basement. The price was better but still high.

Then we decided to look into building a new home on our property. New construction is cheaper than renovation construction with many less headaches. After MUCH prayerful consideration, this is route we chose. The whole process has been documented here: Rich Hearts Home Building 101

But I am feeling great pangs of guilt about tearing this place down. For one reason, it has been our home for seven years. Our children have grown up here and for 3 of the 4, it is the only home they know. There are loads of memories associated with this place. Another reason is that I love antiques and old things; I appreciate them. I think about the families that have lived here and their stories. I had on HGTV the other night and "If Walls Could Talk" and Generation renovation" and although I love those shows, I finally had to just turn the TV off. It was too depressing in light of our eminent tear-down.

I know we have chosen the right path and building new is the right decision. First of all we have prayed about it tons and received clear confirmation from God. Financially, it is the best move. And there are so many things wrong with this place. I believe it is even making the children and I sick because of all the mold issues as well as the dust. That alone is reason enough to get out of this place!

Ahhh....I feel better just getting this off my chest. I know the guilt will not go away for some time and I will CRY when this place goes. But I DO so look forward to moving into my dream house. It is truly a gift and a blessing from God. I cling to that!

Hmmmm...well I've had my first complaint about the video taking too long to download and making the blog too slow to load. Not sure that I fix it any other way, but to take it down. :( I may leave it up for just a little while longer because I am enjoying this great music.

If you are here and appreciating this music, I will note that the song "God so Loved" was chosen because my two oldest daughters and I have dancing to this. We have joined a new liturgical dance class at our church and have been learning a beautiful dance to this that we will be performing in church on December 4th. I really don't picture my self as a dancer. I decided to do this more for my daughters, but I have found that I really enjoy it. This type of dance is very relaxing and uplifting. So now, every time I hear this, I wanna get up and dance!

Playing

Playing more songs, that is. You may be listening to Nicole Mullen sing "Redeemer" (see below) or you may be listening to Stacie Orrico sing "There's Gotta Be More to Life" or Jaci Velasquez sing "God So Loved."

Blog Goodies

Okay, so I had to try this video thing. You are watching Nicole Mullen sing a song I just love called "Redeemer." Now I am just hoping I haven't messed up my dial-up friends too much!

In case you're interested, the words of this song go like this:

Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning?
Who told the ocean you
can only come this far?
Who showed the moon where to hide 'til
evening?
Whose words alone can catch a falling star?

Well I know
my Redeemer lives.
I know my Redeemer lives.
All of creation testify
This
life within me cries
I know my Redeemer lives.

The very same God
that spins things in orbit
He runs to the weary, the worn and the weak
And
the same gentle hands that hold me when I'm broken
They conquered death to
bring me victory

Now I know my Redeemer lives
I know my Redemer
lives
Let all creation testify
Let this life within me cry
I know my
Redeemer, He lives

To take away my shame
And He lives forever
I'll proclaim
That the payment for my sin
Was the precious life He
gave
But now He's alive
And there's a new day

And I know my
Redeemer, He lives
I know my Redeemer lives
Let all creation
testify
This life within me cries
I know my Redeemer
lives

(c) Word Records
I know my Redeemer lives....I spoke with Him this morning.

Country Livin'

I was born and raised a city girl, but my hubby has always been a country boy. Although his family never farmed, he has always lived out in the boonies nestled between the Indiana corn and bean fields. When we married, we lived in the city for several years. The whole time we did, he always talked about how he couldn't wait to move back out to the country where you can actually go out and see stars and the milky way at night. 7 years ago we got our chance when the farm right next to where he grew up (and where his folks still live) came up for auction. I wouldn't trade our location! It is beautiful! My 3 year old son has been fascinated with tractors and combines his whole life so this time of year is great for him. It is time to take in the beans and the combines are out in full force! Last Saturday, they were working in the field across the street and we got to meet the gentleman behind the wheel of the combine and just yesterday they were harvesting the field right behind us. Patrick and I walked out to watch the action and my oldest daughter had joined us. All of a sudden the combine stopped, backed up and the farmer got out and asked the kids if they wanted to ride along! They, of course, jumped at the chance and got to see first hand one aspect of what it is like to be a farmer. Elizabeth was impressed with the fancy GPS system that put up a map of what parts of the field had been harvested and what was left. Patrick was impressed with how fast the back of the combine filled up with soybeans. Anna just thought it was cool.

So, there's another reason that I am just lovin' the country livin'!

Get Out of MY Picture!

My sweet baby girl was showing her NOT so sweet side for the camera today! But just for a moment and she turned the charm back on. She doesn't have a large vocabulary, but her body language was clearly telling her brother to get out of HER photo! Once her brother was gone, she was all cute smiles for the camera!

The doo dads used here, are mostly from Mo Jackson's Annie's Scrapbox, but a few like the alpha and the frame are from her Primative Photo kit. The bow is from Mo's Primitive Scrapbooking and slightly recolored.

Rascal

I should really be working on other things this morning like tomorrow's graphics for church, but I just couldn't resist scrappin these photos. This is a stray barn cat that we have adopted, and he is so cute and friendly!

In case you can't read it, the journaling reads:
Just days after we said goodbye and buried our cat, Tugger, this little cutie wandered into our lives. I was standing by the new house garage when he came up and meowed at me. He looked just like a miniature Tugger and I carried him back to the house to show Anna, knowing she would be thrilled. I had barely set foot on the back porch when she came charging out of the house. Her kitty-radar had gone off and she was instantly by my side and enamored with this cute little kitten. She has named it Rascal and he has been living comfortably on our back porch with plenty of food water and attention.

This was created with a eclectic mix of doo dads. The alpha, photo frame, and aged overlay are all from Mo Jackson's Primitive Scrapbooking set. The trim is from Mo's Melissa's feast and the tin can lid at the top corner is from Mo's Michael set.TFL,Trish

Been Scrappin'

Finally snagged some time to catch up a bit on my scrappin'! These are three pages using sets by Doris Castle (www.castle-creations.com).

"The Kitchen Help" is actually a quickpage called Love and Lace. Totally fast! I tried a new black and white conversion method which can be found on my Digital Art Tips blog (see link at right).

"Here Kitty Kitty" is a simple page showing my son chasing after our kitten. The papers are from Doris Castle's Wood kit and the alpha is from her Stamps and Spots set. The cat is a ding and I drew the pawprints.

"Glorious Fall" showcases some of the many photographs that I talked about taking the other morning. I used Doris' Glorious Fall kit for this layout.

Thanks for looking!

Mr. I-Wanna-Buy-Sumfin!

Last week, my 3 year old son was cracking me up. He had gotten a hold of a toy catalog and was literally pouring over it. Every thirty seconds or so, he would come running to me exclaiming, "I wanna buy sumfin!" His enthusiasm was hilarious! I am so excited that I captured a bit of it in this photo!

I figured the pictures along with the title pretty much tell the story by themselves. I used a bunch of doo dads from Mo Jackson (www.mojackson.com) to create this layout. Most of them are from her Michael kit, but the title paper is from her Primitive Scrapbook kit and the blue electrical tape is from her new Construction Site kit.

Retro-Modern

I must be really old and out of the loop. A few weeks ago, my oldest daughter, Elizabeth, was trying to describe something to me and called it "retro-modern." It just cracked me up and I explained how that was an oxymoron of sorts.

Retro = old and Modern = new.

I have been teasing her of late; asking her if she considers this or that "retro-modern." Then I find THIS (see image link above). Yes, just call me old and totally NOT with it!

Don't you just love Fall!

I have to say that this is my favorite time of year. The other morning I walked outside to witness the most glorious sunrise! There was a foggy mist still clinging to the fields and everything was bathed in beautiful golden rays of sunlight. It was one of those times when you just can't deny the presence of God! So, I snapped a ton of photos! I edited a few for use in this Sunday's worship service. This one is just one example.

Is this fun, or what! I recall reading something about this several years ago, but had forgotten all about it. Sounds like a fun project to do with the kids - perhaps you could even all it educational! Clikc the image above (it's a link) for more details.

POWER!

Art for worship!

Surprising Find of the Day

Not exactly something I wanted to find! This morning I discovered we had left a colander out on the kitchen counter with grapes in it. When I looked in it, I discovered a dead black spider. Ewwww.....I went to dispose of the grapes and the spider flipped over to reveal a bright red hourglass on its belly! Now, I have never in my lifetime seen a black widow spider, but have heard about them. My mom tells the story of how she was told that black widows have a red hourglass on their belly and she always wondered WHO in their right mind would flip one over to check its belly. It wasn't until years later as an adult that she discovered one in a web under her dining room chair that she realized they hang suspended upside down in their web and you can't miss that red hourglass. Well, I am none too happy to discover this little guy in my kitchen. I am just hoping that he didn't have a wife hanging out and laying eggs! We do know he is a boy. I love the instant information at a click of a button with the internet! We looked up black widows and discovered that this one was small with extra markings which meant it was a boy. I also discovered that in the desert areas of the southwest, there are varieties that have 1 1/2" long bodies and and have a spread of 3 - 4" with their legs. Ick!!! Feeling thankful to be living in the Midwest!

Okay, I must be totoally blog happy because I just started ANOTHER blog. This one is more for myself, but I thought others might appreciate it, too.

So often, I come across these great tips for improving my photos or creating digital art. I usually bookmark them but then forget about them or have trouble finding them again. So, I decided that as I come across ones I really like, I would document them in one place. This new blog, Digital Art Tips is it. I will get a link on the sidebar for it, as well.

Time...First Time...Early Time

Time...First Time...Early Time

That is the theme of Elizabeth George in the first chapter of her book, "Life Management for Busy Women" which I just began reading for the second time. What is she referring to? Reading God's Word daily.

First we need to make time. Because to lead a fruitful life, we must be connected to God (see John 15:4-5). And the easiest way to stay connected to God is through His own inspired Word, the bible.

Next we need to give God our FIRST time. Just as Proverbs 3:9 says, "Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops," we must honor the Lord with the firstfruits of the time in our day, as well.

And we need to make sure that these first moments of our day are EARLY time. The bible gives us plenty of examples of men of God seeking God early in the day. Abraham - Genesis 19:27 , David - Psalm 5:3, and even Jesus himself - Mark 1:35.

I want to live a life that makes a difference. I know that *I* can't do that on my own; that will only happen through God's power. For God to be able to use me, I need to stay connected to Him and the best way to do this is by communing with Him first thing, early in the morning through reading His Word and prayer. This is not a new concept for me.

Over the past 10 years or so, I have really tried to find a time in my day to commit to bible study and prayer. With small children in the house, this is no easy task! When I would get up early, they would get up early and feel the need to talk to me non-stop. I would try during afternoon naptime, only to struggle to keep my mind focused because I was in the midst of my day and there were a million things from my mental "to do" list floating around in my head. I tried to seek God through His Word in the evening after the children were in bed only to discover that I was just plain exhausted and had difficulty staying awake.

The only time in my day that I have been successful with is first thing EARLY in the morning before everyone is awake. Right now, my goal is to be awake between 5 and 6am. I get completely cleaned up and dressed (learned that from Flylady), make my coffee, and sit down to have some quiet time with God. After years of doing this, my body's internal clock wakes me early AND my children know that if they get up early, to leave me alone. I may have to remind them that I am having my quiet time, but they have learned that I am in a much better humor if they let me be to have that time. ;) I know that 5am sounds terribly early, but you have to do what you have to do. For another example of an early riser, check out Laine's Letters. I believe she gets up by 4am!

The only other struggle I have with trying to have my quiet time is that because I am such a computer geek, I love to do my bible studying at the computer. I am a big fan of the Bible Gateway site. It is wonderful to be able read a passage of the bible in another version with just a click of a mouse button. BUT because of this, it is SO easy to get tempted to read a couple of e-mails or visit a favorite site BEFORE I commune with God. I am recommiting to my special early time with God. I have the words, "Time...First Time...Early Time" posted by my desk to remind myself that God deserves my firstfruits of my time.

I don't know how many out there reading this feel this same way. Do you struggle making your life one of purpose? Will you do this with me? I am committing to reading God's Word first before I read anything else in a day. I will do everything in my power to set aside the early portion of my day for God and communicating with Him. I really hope that you reading this will join me. I am praying that you will!

Revive me

Just sharing some of this week's art for worship.

Mega Digital Scrapbook Kit

Crafters United is a group of crafters that have banded together to raise money for hurricane relief. Their original goal was to raise $1000. This has been so successful that their goal has been upped to $15,000! You can read more about this at their site.

I am proud to be a part of a group called the Element Kit Gang. It is an e-mail group mentoring others and teaching the techniques to create digital scrapbook element kits. Our group has banded together to create a HUGE mega kit which will be offered for sale as part of Crafters United. Purchase information may be found here. This kit will sell for only $10 and includes well over 700 MB of goodies already and it still not quite complete.

This is the mini scrapbook kit I created as part of the mega kit. It includes 8 12" x12" backgrounds, and 6 coordinating elements.

DooDads for Donating

Mo Jackson is doing something a little different with her orphans this month on her website (www.mojackson.com). To get them this month all you have to do is make a donation to the Red Cross to get them. I did it!!! Will you join me?

A Reminder

in difficult times of who our source of strength is:

...another bit of art for tomorrow's worship services.

Project Noah

It is a blessing to see so many people across the country stepping forward and doing what they can to help those who have been devastated by Katrina. I discovered this organization that caught my attention as a homeschooler. Project Noah (see link above) is set up to replace homeschool curriculum for families who have gone through a crisis. As it was stated on their website, most homeschooling families displaced by Katrina are not thinking about curriculum right now, BUT when they do, Project Noah will be prepared to help. They work in a unique niche of need. They accept both donations of money as well as new and gently used curriculum. More details are on their site.

Borders for Relief

I just purchased a new set of photo borders from Blair. She is selling them and donating ALL of the proceeds to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief. But today is the last day! The details can be found here: Blair's Borders You do need some version of Photoshop to use them because the ten wonderful borders come as a single 10 layer .psd file. I sent her money through PayPal and she sent me the borders within the hour. Great service!!! I just wanted to pass this great, generous offer that she has made along. Run - don't walk to go check it out!!!

I discovered this deal on Jen's Digi Scrappin blog this morning. She has compiled a list of wonderful, generous digital scrappers offering special deals and kits to raise money for Katrina relief.

Survival of New Orleans Blog

Survival of New Orleans Blog info that you don't hear in the media and photos posted by someone in the city.

Rattled Baby another blog with lots of info about the status of New Orleans

Blog for Relief

According to this site today is Blog for Relief day. Many in BlogLand are encouraging others to donate to charities helping those in need in the areas hit by Katrina.

My children and I were discussing this morning about Hurricane Katrina and what it has done to SO MANY people - families just like ours. We sit here so far removed, but I can't help but have a desire to help. But how? First of all we can pray. God is a worker of miracles! He can use this difficult situation and use it for good. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him." (Romans 8:28) Prayer is powerful and if we would lift our concerns for those who have lost much and are in desperate situations, God will do amazing things. Another way to help, of course, is financially. There are many wonderful organizations that are prepared to provide just the right help in these type of situations. If you'll notice, I have provided a link on the right to one of them. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is a not for profit organization providing disaster and hunger relief all over the world. One of their distribution depots is located right in Jackson, Mississippi and right now providing supplies without the need to ship them. If you also are feeling a desire to help, please lift everyone affected by Katrina up in your prayers and consider donating to assist in the massive relief effort that is needed to put lives back in order.

Book of Proverbs

I took a few minutes this morning to roam around BlogLand and discovered this link on Angie Pedersen's blog: Book of Proverbs. It is about creating a personal family Book of Proverbs using common everyday proverbs such as "Look before you leap" and "A stitch in time saves nine." The idea is to read the first part of the proverb to your child/children and have them tell you the last part. Could make for some interesting and funny bits of wisdom! I think this may be a fun project to begin and start collecting for our own book!

Trading in "Good" for "Great"

Clutter!
Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have packrat tendencies and I battle clutter in my life. I have many creative interests and with each of these comes stuff. Stuff that I feel that I cannot part with. A session of decluttering is mentally exhausting for me. Some of you reading this can relate to this - I know I an not completely alone with this. Others out there are pitchers. You find joy in tossing things out and living a sparse life. If this is you, bear with me here. Some of this may still speak to you.

This morning as I was pouring myself out to the Lord, I was asking Him to create some clear space in my life. I am craving clear uncluttered space in my life not only in my physical space, but in my mind, as well. I feel like I cannot think straight because there is just too much. I am surrounded by distractions. I asked God to show me what needs to be cleared away. He spoke to me first of the obvious:
MATERIAL STUFF: There has to be less physical stuff around me to make life simpler and clearer. How much of what surrounds me and my family in our home has eternal purpose?

But then a new surprising thing was revealed to me:
GOOD INTENTIONS. Good intentions of projects I want to do myself and with the children because they sound fun or would be "educational." All of these things that I feel I could or should do take up space in my thoughts and the stuff that goes along with them takes up space in my home. All of these things are good things. BUT...there are only so many hours in a day and it is not physically possible to do all of these wonderful projects in the time we are allotted in life even if I was the most organized person on the planet.

So, I asked God, "Help me discern and let go of the "good" to make space for the "great."

Let me repeat that:

Help me discern and let go of the "good" to make space for
the "Great."

That is the key! And the kicker is something that may be Great for someone else is merely good for me or my children. That is because God has created each of us with a unique purpose and a unique path He wants us to walk. God is the ONLY one who can truly give us wisdom in this area. Oh Lord be my guide! Help me to flush out the good (and even not so good) in my life and make room to be open for the VERY BEST that you have for me and my family!!!

A bit of art...

Just sharing a bit of art I created for worship this Sunday.

Confession is good for the Soul

This morning I was wandering about BlogLand and happened upon Greta's blog discussing the author, Donald Miller. I was intrigued and followed her link to an article called The Campus Confession Booth which is an excerpt from his book, "Blue Like Jazz." I won't go into the gist of the article, but I found it an interesting approach to sharing Christ. It is definitely worth the time to read and I am intrigued enough to seek out this book for myself.

I suppose this hit home for me because, some things have been happening in our life, especially pertaining to our church that have me questioning "religion." Don't get me wrong this in no way means I am questioning my faith in Jesus. I am questioning the rituals and man-made stuff that we try to attach to our faith in Jesus that don't necessarily have anything to do with Him. Things that clutter up our relationship with Him and sadly enough, distract those who are seeking Him. I am far from walking away from organized religion, but I am seeking a way to be a part of the solution - Asking God for wisdom. Hubby and I have come to the conclusion that our church home is in dire need of a revival. For things to turn around it is going to HAVE to be a God thing. So, that is what we are asking for. I feel like God is letting our church fail in many areas to get everyone's attention and bring us around to where we should be.

It seems as though life cycles. We can be flying high and then things just seem to wind down and we hit a low. Sometimes the only thing that can get us on the path back up again is God. I see that so often in my life. I am seeking God daily and I feel like I am on the right path and things are going smoothly. Then I get too confident in myself and think a bit less about God during my day. I may not realize it, but I begin to cycle down. Next thing you know, something happens that puts me at rock bottom. (I think so many times that God does that to get my attention!) I am at the end of myself and then I begin more earnestly seeking God daily again. This process is kind of like a personal revival. We get back on our personal path with God and our spirits soar.

I feel like I am rambling today - not sure where these thought are going. Reading Greta's blog just got my mind to thinking about these things. Reminding me that no matter what, seeking God and doing what He wants me to do HAS to be a priority in my life or it is NOTHING. Praying that *I* don't get in the way of what HE is doing.

Computer Fonts

I saw this over at the 2 Peas message board and thought it was kinda slick. http://www.stcassociates.com/lab/fontbrowser.html

You can preview any text in any ofthe fonts installed on your computer. There's no software to download; just go to the site.

Personally, I use The Font Thing (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~scef/tft.html). With this free program you can not only preview text using installed fonts, but also uninstalled fonts that you have stored on your computer. If there are too many fonts installed on your computer, it can cause things to slow down. By using The Font Thing, you can preview and uninstalled font, install it with the click of a button, and uninstall it when you are done. That being said I STILL have way too many font installed. Perhaps I am just a font junkie!

Gravel Boy

This is another photo from my a Slice o' Life photo blog. Thought it would be fun to scrap.

I used Doris Castle's Growing Up kit. I liked the scruffy quality of it and thought it suited the photo well.

I read somewhere - I think it was on someone's photo blog, that they like to take photos of the edges of scenes because they are usually more interesting. This popped into my head as I was standing over my son playing in the gravel pile watching a trencher dig for our new home's water lines. I took one photo with him centered and then this one which I ended up liking much better. This isn't actually the edge, but I like how there is more focus on his moving hand and the gravel.