happily random

We have a climber...

None of my other kids did this. I can't leave her alone for a second. She climbs the boys' bunk bed, the couch & on the dining room table. She's even tried the bookshelves (yes, they're bolted to the wall)! As you can see from the photo, she's absolutely delighted about it too. Ugh. She's nearly 14 months old, not even walking yet (although she takes steps here & there), but she's climbing everything. Guess that's what those eyes in the back of my head are for?

Rough night last night. Rebekah was throwing up again (she was sick on Friday), so we were up with her several times. Lucas was up 3 times with bad dreams, which means his screaming woke Tyler who came into our room crying each time. All the commotion woke Sam up several times to the point she decide at 2 a.m. that it was time to get up and play. Oh, and sing too. It was a long night. Rebekah seems better today, although she did stay home from school.

If I'm going to enter CK's Hall of Fame contest this year, I need to get crackin'. Of course my printer has decided to die but is taking its time about it. A slow lingering death. It works enough for me to fight with it & not need to buy at new one just yet, but not enough so that it's reliable. I have the Epson 1280 now, and while I'm not happy that it's dying, I really like it so I'll probably get a new Epson when this one dies. Now my only wonder is what happened to the Colorlife paper? It was the best photo paper: satin finish & fantastic prints. I wonder why Epson no longer carries it.

But I digress. Hall of Fame. I have 19 days to get 10 layouts done & in to CK for it. I've done more in less time. I did my Masters entry in a week... while moving. I just need to get off my lazy butt in the evening instead of parking in front of the TV and scrapbook. I need to have some people to call me & nag me in the evening. LOL. The sitter is coming today, so I'll be working on it. Praying for inspiration....

"Because you're not yet taking God seriously," said Jesus. "The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, 'Move!' and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn't be able to tackle." Matthew 17:20 (The Message Bible)

Weekend Report

I am currently working on reading through the Bible in a year. Actually, it has turned into reading through the Bible in 5 years. LOL. I got one of those charts that breaks the Bible up into manageable chunks to read every day. I have been working on it since March 06 & I'm only through February on the chart. Some days I get to read all the segments for the day, some days not. I'm way behind for last year, but if you count it from January, I'm way ahead for this year. But I am determined to read through the entire Bible, no matter how slow my going is. I've been a believer for nearly 18 years now & I've never read the entire Bible. I figure it's time. :)

I had a very fun, encouraging weekend. Friday & Saturday I attended a retreat with the women in leadership at our church. Friday night we we given tickets to go on some indoor waterslides at the hotel & I can't believe that I almost didn't go on them! It's been 20 years since I've been on a waterslide. Usually I have my kids with me when I get to do things like that & I have forgotten how nice it is to let loose & have fun. If the kids had been with me I would have been worried that all their heads needed to stay above water. So this was definitely a treat. I was squealing & laughing all the way down the tubes. Too fun! The rest of the weekend was spent getting to know the other women in leadership & brainstorm about our ministry issues & encouraging each other. After the weekend I don't feel quite so alone in my ministry & very encouraged about the ideas we came up with.

Our women's workshop this winter is working on Stormie Omartian's The Power of A Praying Wife. This is one of those books that I have owned for ten year & never read. I guess I keep hoping that the words of the text will magically osmosis into my brain during the night. I'm happy to be finally reading it & attempting incorporate it into my life. I'm looking forward to seeing what God does in the life of my husband. :)

I've really been enjoying the online scrapbook classes that have recently become available. There aren't a lot of conventions close to me that I can attend, so getting to do some classes online is a lot of fun. I just signed up for The Art of Choosing Joy from Big Picture Scrapbooking. Although not designed for believers, I intend on make my part in it be for my relationship with Christ. I thought it was very interesting that class was being offered when my word for the year is joy. I have also signed up for a few classes from Scrap-A-Faire, an online scrapbook convention from Scrapbooks Etc. which starts just after my joy class ends. Scrapbook classes on my time without having to leave the house, drive, find a hotel or a sitter. Sound perfect for me.

Open your mouth & taste, open your eyes & see -- how good God is. Blessed are you who run to Him. Psalm 34:8 (The Message)

Breakthrough!

Yesterday afternoon, our new sitter came over to watch the kids & I headed over to my studio to scrapbook. Before I started, I prayed that God would encourage me & give me inspiration to get a layout completed. And inspiration did come. In just an hour and a half I had a layout completed that I am very happy with! Not only was it created in less half the time that it ususally takes me to make a layout, but I tried some new ideas that I hadn't tried before & was very happy with the results. :)

Our sitter is wonderful, BTW.The kids love playing with her, she's good with them (when they're being good & bad) & is very thoughtful. Yesterday she did my dishes even though I've never asked her to do housework. Definitely a keeper.

Tonight I'm heading out for a women's leadership retreat from my church. I'm very excited about this because it's a whole night & day -- kid-free! I'll get to sleep in a bed all alone tonight, no kids to interrupt my sleep. The hotel we're staying at even has an indoor waterpark, so I'm bringing a bathing suit for a soak in the hot tub & maybe a few trips down the waterslides. It should be a fun outing. I'm just praying for the kids to be good for Daddy. The boys were complete maniacs at the chiropractor this morning while I was getting my back worked on. I'm sure I'm going to be ready for my getaway by this evening.

But if you forget about yourself & look to me, you'll find both yourself & me. Matthew 10:39

Happy 5th Birthday Lucas!

Today is my second child's 5th birthday. How can that be? All of them are really growing up too fast. *sigh* I didn't know as a mom that life would be so full of bittersweet moments.

At 5 years old, Luke is into Spiderman, dinosaurs & elephants (still, since he was 1 1/2). He's a sweet little guy with a quirky sense of humor. I love him very much. The last 5 years with him have been a challenge, but I wouldn't trade a moment with him. Happy birthday, Luke!

We have a family party planned tonight with rainbow cupcakes that Luke picked out at the store. This is the first birthday that I didn't make them myself. With my back issues, sick kids & all, I just didn't have it in me. And Luke is delighted with his rainbow cupcakes... with heart rings on top! :)

Speaking of my back, it is getting better slowly but surely. Still going to the chiropractor & making steady improvement. I haven't been in excrusiating pain since Sunday; it's been mostly a dull ache here & there. Lot of ibuprofen & ice.

My friend Melissa brought to my attention some cute computer wallpaper on American Crafts website. I actually replaced the LOTR wallpaper I've had for quite some time now. :)

Oh my aching back

I had every intent to keep up my blogging streak & then last Monday, pain hit. I was loading clothes into the dryer when my back went out. I've been in pain ever since & sitting at the computer for more than a minute has been impossible. I've been to the chiropractor twice with more appointments scheduled this week. I'm slowly getting better, but I'm still hurting. I have to be very careful with everything I do because the slightest wrong move has me in excrusiating pain again. Keep me in your prayers that God would heal my back. Taking care of the kids, the house & everything else is really tough when I'm in so much pain.

Because of that, last week was pretty uneventful. MOPS was Thursday night & Friday morning. I must have been covered in prayer because the pain completely went away during our meetings. Other than that my only outings were to the chiropractor & Target.

I'm very excited to report that we have found a sitter for the kids! She'll be coming over 2 afternoons a week to start for 3 hours a day, basically to watch the kids so that I can scrapbook. I am so happy to be able to get back into a routine where scrapbooking is concerned. At this point in my life, I am not a late-night scrapbooker. I am too sleep-deprived to begin with that one late night ruins me for days. So we have been looking for and praying for a sitter that can come over to watch the kids so I can scrapbook. Not only is scrapbooking a way for me to make some money, but it's a therapeutic outlet for me. I think this setup is going to be very good for our family as a whole. :) Our sitter is such an anwer to prayer: not only does she have her own car & live pretty close to us, but she is a believer too! Praise God!

Watch this: God's eye is on those who respect him, the ones who are looking for his love. He's ready to come to their rescue in bad times; in lean times he keeps body & soul together. We're depending on God; he's everything we need. What's more, our hearts brim with joy since we've taken for our own his holy name. Love us, God, with all you've got -- that's what we're depending on. Psalm 33:18-22

I'm nervous

Yesterday afternoon I sat down to scrapbook. After 5 months away, actual scrapbooking, not digital, not organizing, but to play with actual, physical products. I sat there messing around with a layout for 2 hours. It just didn't click. It's like I forgot how. Nothing seemed to go right. I came back to the house & wandered around in a daze. My husband asked me what was wrong & to told him it just didn't go right. And I was worried. And frustrated. And afraid. What if I can't get it back? He said it'll probably take a few times to get my flow back, to get in my groove again. I know he's right, but I there is a part of me that is still nervous about the whole thing.

Silly huh? When I really think about it, it's silly that I can get myself so worked up over just a hobby. Just a hobby. It's been so long since scrapbooking was just a hobby for me. It's my creative outlet. It's one of my passions. And the thought of not being able to do it anymore is frightening. Honestly, I'm praying about it, that God will help me to relax about it, to just let it come. And it will come. I know it will. It's been a part of my life for over 10 years; I know it won't go quietly. :)

O to have my life henceforth a poem of new joys!

To dance, clap hands, exult, shout, skip, leap, roll on, float on,

To be a sailor of the world, bound for all ports,

A ship itself, (see indeed these sails I spread to the sun and air,)

A swift and swelling ship, full of rich words -- full of joys.

- Walt Whitman

Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be -- you get a fresh start, your slate's wiped clean. Count yourself lucky -- God holds nothing against you & you're hold nothing back from him. Psalm 32:1-2

Hearts

Isn't this jacket adorable? I picked it up at Target today. I came for shoes for Lucas & when I saw this, I couldn't pass it up. Sammy is going to look so cute in her little Valentine's jacket!

Of course the dollar spot was full of Valentine's goodies. Tiny little pots to grow lavendar & strawberries, Valentine's buckets, heart socks, all which I walked out the door with. I just love all the pink, red & hearts. Guess I'm a sucker for Valentine's Day. :)

Yesterday was a good mail day. I got a layout back from Memory Makers with a copy of the March issue (my layout is on page 96) and I got the new Designing with 2007 Calendar. Fun stuff!I also got a couple of books I ordered. I love fresh reading material!

Still sick. Coughing like crazy & thinking that I might have to make a trip to the doctor. I'm sounding pretty weezy now. Ugh. Anytime I get a cold, it turns into a cough & bronchitis & I cough for weeks. Not only that, but I'm pretty worn out, which makes me a grouchy mommy & I don't like being a tired & grouchy mommy. :P Whine & complain, complain & whine. I sound like one of my kids. LOL. Wo is me.... ;)

Back to a positive note, it's FRIDAY! :) Joy, joy, joy! No wallowing.

The joy of the Lord is my strength.