5 things

I'm challenged to list 5 things I have enjoyed today........
1. Camden ate spaghetti at dinner. He even said "spaghetti" and not "skapetti".
2. "The Office" cracked me up! (NBC, 8:30 p.m.)
3. Benjy told me I was an angel and sang a song to me about Jesus.
4. Almond M&Ms. Need I say more?
5. Christmas lights everywhere.

manifesto

Manifesto: Noun. A declaration of one's intentions.

Starting December first, I will keep a Christmas journal. In it, I will write something every
day to reflect on the holidays of my past, enjoy the holidays of the present and dream
about the holidays of my future. To some, this will be a stack of papers and trivial
scribbles, but not to me. I am taking back my Christmas, I am letting it be something I
relish and, most importantly, I am giving at least fifteen minutes every day to myself no
matter how crazy this season becomes. I hope you will share, encourage and understand
as I make something with my own hands, my own words and my own memories.

I may post some or all of my entries here. Other artists are doing this with me, and you
can see there work here.

Who's got my attention???

I admit it. I'm becoming more and more conservative. Scary, huh?

This epiphany of sorts comes as I realize that as a Christian, I am definitely in the minority.
Not only do Islamic extremists want my faith wiped out, but Americanism, or whatever you call it, wants it obliterated, too. Is it such a bad thing to be a Christian? To be a follower, a believer, a disciple of Jesus Christ? Why is it that in this country, being a Christian is worth ridiculing? Worth dismissing and being sent to the corner? Why is it that we can't say "Christmas" when we celebrate the birth of JC? As the youth minister at my church says, "It's the economy, Stupid!"

So, who's the new man in my life that has my attention? It's Glenn Beck. SHOCK! (Go ahead, gasp and fall down, then get up and read on.) He's on CNN Headline News at 9 pm on weeknights. This is a man who's not afraid to say what he's thinking. Now, I might not always agree with everything that he says, but I do think he's right on with his passion in saying it. I think in America, we've forgotten exactly what it is that we stand for. We're so concerned with not offending anybody that we've forgotten what it is to be offended. To be persecuted. We're so busy being politically correct that we've forgotten what it is to believe in something. Heck, we just believe in "whatever." And we wonder why this country is in decline........

In other news...

We're bigtime into the lights this year. We've got a tree in almost every room. Well, one big tree and lots of little trees. The boys are so proud of their tiny trees with multi colored lights. I'll have to get some pix and post 'em.

Camden had a PERFECT math test yesterday. :)

Thanksgiving - beautiful. Just beautiful. Mom and Dad and home. Can't quit remembering where I was a week ago right now. :)

Thankful for what?

Thankful for home.
Home.
Where I grew up.
Where I could go for a jog at midninight and not worry about a single thing.
Where Mom and Dad were always there.
Where the train whistle soothed me to sleep.
Where Magic Mart could stand up to Walmart.
Where the mountains embraced you.
Where everything seems so small now, but so comfortable.
Where small is good.
Where time seems to stall for just a bit, long enough for one to stop and appreciate its passing.
Where memories flood one's mind, one's heart, one's very soul.
Home.

Christmas Parade - not "Holiday" parade

Not even Thanksgiving, and we've spotted Santa twice. Once at the mall and today in the town Christmas parade that they aren't even allowed to call Christmas.

Your Ideal Pet is a Cat

You're both aloof, introverted, and moody. And your friends secretly wish that you were declawed!

What's Your Ideal Pet?

I swear, that's what this stupid quiz says. Of course it's wrong. I hate cats. I thought it might spit out polar bear or something interesting. But never in a million years CATS!
Check this out:
take the ideal pet quiz

Grateful

Today I start my Grateful art journal. I made it yesterday to help me focus on the little things I have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season. Not the biggies, the obvious ones, like my kids, my dh, God, etc. But the *small stuff* little things. God is in the little things. I'm convinced of it. I want to focus on those, to look for them and expect them.

So, I woke up this morning, a wee bit late, and got myself ready for school. Camden and Benjy's alarm clock rang and I walked to their room to drag their sleepy bods out of bed. What I saw made me giggle. It wasn't really all that funny, but I could see the humor in it, the blessing of the *small stuff*, the not-so-innocent but oh-so-silly side of my boys. I'm grateful they're friends and that they can entertain each other.

Well, I suppose you wanna see what I saw:

Christmases past

The question for the day on 3 Scrappy Boys was to recall a favorite Christmas. Well, I don't have a favorite. Mine are all rolled up into one wonderful, happy memory.

My memories don't involve a specific present either; although the smell of Barbie plastic still makes me smile as I recall the cool Barbie case, house, and dolls of my past......

We always attended the Christmas Eve candlelight service at church, drove home the long way to see all the Christmas light displays, and came home where my two grandmothers spent the night with us. We snacked on Grandmomma Stapleton's peanut butter rolls and party mix and stayed up till around midnight to watch Johnny Carson. (It was always the NBC Orchestra and Doc Severson on the Christmas Eve show. I have no idea why I would have liked it at that young an age. I guess it was just that I was up with the grown-ups, with them as they watched and listened and giggled at my sister and me as we opened up a special gift reserved only for Christmas Eve.

The Christmas tree had gold tinsel and fat blue bulbs that got hot to the touch - you could even smell the heat! It's a wonder it didn't go up in smoke. On Christmas morning we always jumped out of bed after waking up one grandmother by knocking on her wall from our beds next door. My sister and I had been counting the presents and rearranging them under the tree for at least two weeks, so we knew full well whose name was on what box. Passing out the presents was speedy and opening was chaos at best. Candi, our German Shepherd Elkhound was always afraid of the din of ripping paper and squeals of delight, so she hid away with her Christmas rawhide bone.

In the few precious minutes it took to dispense with the opening of presents and insane shrieking over the Santa goodies, Christmas morning was over. My favorite breakfast of scrambled eggs - dry, not runny - buttermilk biscuits, white gravy, and chewy bacon - followed, and the rest of the day was spent playing, playing, playing. No wonder my kids can't wait till Christmas. I wonder now what smell will take them back. Does Star Wars have a scent???

Camden's trophie for following directions at his tournament last weekend. He came home and gave it and his other one a bath. So cute!
I've been counting Weight Watchers points since Thursday, and I'm almost starving. I remember the last time I did this I felt the same for the first week of counting and cutting back on my intake. I also lost 10 real pounds - not just water - so I am willing to feel starved for a bit in hopes that it'll work again. I did go over my points tonight, though. Curt made chili and cornbread. Man, that stuff gets better every time he makes it! I figure the chili is really good for me - beans, tomatoes, green peppers, and protein. Yeah, that's what I think. At least I skipped the cheese. I think I can feel a pound missing from my tummy!

I had the most relaxing day - after church, that is. This morning I had three things to accomplish: load the powerpoint for the church service, substitute for Camden's Sunday School class, and help serve and clean up after the coffee hour, which was PACKED since we had two baptisms today. Sweet little babies. :) Once we got home I changed into my pj pants and took a two-hour nap. I woke up happy, the scent of chili filling the house. I was bummed, though, because I had wanted to get with my friend Alecia to catch up. Drat - missed that. If you're reading this, Alecia - I swear I didn't mean to sleep for soooo long! Let's get together this week or over the weekend. :) :) :)

Here's my least favorite thing that one of the boys said this week:
Benjy - "I want that! I WANT THAT THAT THAT, MOMMY! I WANT THAT! MOMMY I WANT THAT!!!!!!" when a commercial of ANY TOY comes on.

I'll be on the lookout for my favorite this week.

What Halloween picture?

Trick or Treat was last night. We took Camden and Benjy to a few houses in the steady rainfall. They still managed to get a load of candy which the good Halloween Fairy traded for a couple of Star Wars guys each. Good deal I think. Still, not one single solitary picture of the whole shabang. A crazy night it was. And I'm so glad it's behind us. Time to move on with November. Here's what I LOVE about this month:
Cold temperatures and the smell of heat in the house.
Candles lit each evening - well, when we're HOME, that is.
Sweaters and turtlenecks.
Thanksgiving Day - the parade, the dinner, the time to focus on blessings
Christmas decorations that go up after Thanksgiving.
Football.
Christmas lights in town.
Snow. Wishful thinking.
Hot cocoa at Barnes and Noble's Starbucks. It's just different there than when you get it in the drive through at the real Star Bucks.
Turkey and dressing.

Curt's informed me I've been bad - not having blogged since the 14th. Bad, bad me.

Highlights from the past couple of weeks:
It snowed here this week. Snow showers, nothing to stick to the ground, but snow flakes, nonetheless. When Benjy saw the flakes falling as we got to preschool at 7 a.m., his little jaw just dropped in wonder. "snow!!!!" he whispered in amazement. Yup, snow. It was beautiful just seeing it through the eyes of a three year old boy.

Camden has his yellow belt in karate. He was so darn proud. I keep trying to upload a picture, but it's not working tonight. I'll try again.

Wednesday night Food for Faith meetings at church are really interesting. The discussion group I go to is a comparative study of the world's religions. We've spent the last two on Islam. Scary stuff, when you dive in and examine it. Hopeless and mean. How could people have faith in such a desperate and cruel religion? I suppose that with your life at stake, it might be easier to give in. Truly, we don't all worship the same God. Allah is definitely not the same as my God.

I've got a pile of magazines to go through this weekend. Better Homes & Gardens, Country Sampler, Scrapbooks Etc., Redbook, Blueprint. I love magazines. They appeal to that "gotta get it done fast so I can cross it off my list" sensability. And tonight, when I turn off my computer, I'll dive into The Kite Runner. Wow, that's a powerful book. I'm about half-way through, and I'm so sad at night when I'm just too tired to read anymore.

Curt's folks are coming up tomorrow for several days. They're excited to pass out Halloween treats on Sat. while we take the kids around the circle for Trick or Treat. Darth Vader and Annakin Skywalker will lead the way. Nothing like following the dark side.

I'm still in love with my school, my students. It's such a blessed place. I am happy each morning to start with our devotions at 7:10. Early, yes, but what a fitting way to start the day. Our director had the most interesting words of encouragement the other day. The jist of it was that we have a CHOICE to walk in fear or walk in hope. It's our CHOICE. God has provided a way for us to live without fears, without the anxiety that eats at our hearts. He tells us we can lay our troubles on Him, trust in Him, and He will take care of it all. But we cannot waver. We simply must TRUST and BELIEVE that He will guide us through these times and that our character will be shaped in the mold of Jesus as a result if we only trust and believe. That's what faith is all about. I had been so scared driving to school for a few days - afraid that a deer would dart out in front of my van and cause a crash. But I don't have to live with that fear. The enemy would like me to be afraid, but God doesn't want that. He wants me to feel joy and peace, to glorify Him through that. So my prayer partner and I prayed that God would take that fear away and protect me and Benjy as we drive to school on that windy country road. Sure enough, I am not driving in fear anymore. Cautiously and carefully, yes, but not fearfully. I had a choice to make - allow the enemy to let me live in fear, or allow God to comfort me and grant a peace to my heart. What a wonderful thing to be able to CHOOSE joy! Yes, I know I sound like a real wack, but I'm OK with that. I'm OK with having peace in my life. I simply don't choose the alternative. I hope you don't either.

I just posted this on the 3Scrappy Boys board - a summary of my day.

Beautiful sunny day here with cool temps and a nice wind to blow a few leaves around.
Too bad I spent it cleaning,
rearranging,
picking up toys,
organizing toys,
giving away toys,
and taking an entire van load to Goodwill,
and then - to top it all off - going to Walmart. I HATE Walmart. absolutely detest the place. But, being the saint of a mom that I am, I joined my family on its pilgrimage to the center of hell.
I felt I deserved a break when I got home.
Then realized I hadn't typed the powerpoint service for church tomorrow, so I did that.
Then I took a hot bath behind my locked door where I had to listen to Benjy bang and plead, "MOMMY I NEEEEEEED YOU NOOOOOOWWWWWW." I took a short hot bath.
Then, I ate my dh's awesome chili - two and a half bowls - and cornbread, and scrapped.
Yes. I actually scrapped one page tonight.
With paper,
not my computer.
So I guess the day wasn't a total loss, huh? 8) :lol:

Hiking

Yesterday was just beautiful. Blue sunny skies, warm - in the 70s, and a Sunday to boot. We went on a hike on a nearby nature trail. It was slooooow going, as any hike with children is bound to be. It absolutely kills me to walk s-l-o-w-y. Even Curt walks to slow for me. But the boys (all three of them) forced me to a snail's pace. and I wound up enjoying it. My heart wasn't racing and my blood wasn't coursing through my veins. But my soul was at peace. This trail is so wonderful - clean, natural, relatively flat for Pa., clear paths that wind through the woods. So many old-growth trees and some new ones trying to mature. Bat boxes were placed here and there to help our bat friends. (I love bats - they eat mosquitoes!) We walked for nearly two hours, ending our hike with a self-guided tour of the flower and herb gardens near the parking area. The boys seemed so happy. Pleasantly tired, we drove the windy roads of western Pa. back toward home. We were relaxed, living the simple life. Grateful for our time in the woods. Then we saw Toys R Us. And the world came crashing back like a tidal wave on the beach. Of course, we stopped. But we didn't buy a thing. I swear it. (Well, a milkshake at McDs, but that doesn't count, right?)

The strike is over. Camden and 6600 other students in his district returned to school today. The upside - he loved it. The downside - he has a spelling test tomorrow. The upside again - he knows his words.
Here are a few more things I'm thankful for:

* Gobs - for the uninitiated, a "gob" is a cookie-sized cake bottom and cake top sandwiched around yummy icing. I've never heard of them till this week when Carri brought one into me. YUM!!! The one I had was not chocolate, but more pumpkin-y. I gotta learn how to make these. :) (Darn, I wish I had a picture!!!)
* I got my hair cut - walked into Fantastic Sam's and didn't even have time to sit down before they called me. I love the cut.
* Little prayers count - I'd been feeling a bit down because I haven't had my quality quiet time to pray and think since school started. And then I realized that God hears our quick prayers, too, and He knows our hearts. So, sometimes that's good enough.
* My birthday has come and gone and I feel just the same inside and out. I'm a year older, they say. But I'm really just a day older than yesterday and even younger than next week. So there! (Still, glad my Avon came today.)
* Mom, Dad, Michelle, Brandee, and Hokie. I miss them. And I am thankful for them. I could have been born into any family, but God picked them for ME.

This was shared at our staff devotion time this a.m. Thought it was pretty powerful.

Mark 6:31 - Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, "Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."

A management company in Pittsburgh computes that in a life span of 75 years the average amount of time spent sleeping is 23 years; working, 19 years; in amusement activities, 9 years; traveling, 6 years; eating, 6 years; waiting in line, 5 years; cleaning the house, 4 years; preparing meals, 3 years; returning telephone calls, 2 years; searching for misplaced items, 1 year; opening junk mail, 8 months; sitting at red lights, 6 months; worshiping, 6 months; and praying, 19 days.

Our Lord set a day aside for us to rest and to spend time in His presence, giving Him thanks and praise. Christ took time to separate Himself from the daily routine for rest and prayer. Look again at the list of how we spend a life's worth of time. Prayer comes out at the bottom and Bible study not at all. We don't have time, we complain. We have time, it would seem, for less important activities. And if we followed Christ's example, we would make time by carving out a space for prayer and study and by arranging a significant time to be in the Word.

After all, time spent in prayer and with our Bibles is when we come face-to-face with our Redeemer.

PRAYER: Dear Christ, lead us to spend our time with You. Amen.

I want 2 mommies!!!!!!!!!

Benjy says he wants two mommies. This is his new tactic for getting what he wants. Problem is, it's not working. Here's how it goes. He says he wants candy/lollipop/peanut butter sandwich/a new toy/a Star Wars "gum"/a later bedtime. You get the picture. I say "no." He says, "I want TWO MOMMIES!!!" I say, "You've only got one, me." He says, "I want TWO DADDIES!!!" I say, "You've only got one, Dad. And if you did have two daddies, they would both say NO." He says, "MOM, YOU CANNOT SAY THAT!" And I let it go. He gets the last word. But I get the point because he still doesn't have candy/lollipop/peanut butter sandwich/a new toy/a Star Wars "gum"/a later bedtime. The end.

I am a teacher

I really believed that I'd never go back into teaching again. I swore I would not. But then teaching found me and brought me back to the fold. And so I'm a teacher today. And I'm so blessed to call myself that. Not only do I get the satisfaction of seeing my 12 smiling students Monday through Friday, but I also get to see them when the light goes on and they realize they've truly grasped something. They're learning! They're wrapping their minds around new concepts and understanding them. That's the gift of teaching - witnessing this unmistakable a-ha moment and pushing them onward - past it and into a realm of new understanding. Sounds hokie, yes, but it's really something else to experience.
Here's a layout I put together last night for 3 Scrappy Boys last night. It was for a challenge called "All About Me".

Tomorrow I take Camden back to school with me. His teachers are still striking for more pay. Goodness knows I could use more, but you'll never find me on strike for it. Children are being hurt by this. There's no reason for them to be stuck at home or in day care or on the streets looking for something to do. Thank God my school director is so open to letting Camden come to school with me. Otherwise we'd be paying at least $150 to find a safe place for him to stay during the work week. And that wouldn't even guarantee that he'd be learning anything! I pray the teachers and board can come to an agreement QUICKLY. Sometimes you do something not for the money, but as a vocation. I've found mine. Maybe the teachers haven't found theirs.

what a wonderful day

I spent the morning in my jammies. The afternoon cleaning bathrooms. And the evening working on this. My About Me layout for 3Scrappy Boys.
Now I sit looking up Hokie stats and learning that they LOST today to Georgia Tech. Bummer. Oh well.
Family's been on my mind this week. Family is forever, ya know. It's taken me quite a number of years to realize that. 38 to be exact. :) I'm hoping to reconnect with extended family and really reach out to immediate. Perhaps I come off as aloof when I don't mean to. It's easy to be out here in cyber space, blogging and scrapping and going on with my day-to-day life. And then every Saturday I do the Sunday church service projection and I'm pointed right back to the heart of the matter...family.

I have been burning this candle for HOURS today. A candle given to me by my first grade class yesterday for my birthday. This brings a huge smile to my face. The aroma - oh, this is just so homey, so wonderful. I even took it upstairs with me when I got cleaned up today. :) It's been by me all day while I've been scrapping. I'm back home, baby!!! I've been printing pix, scrapping for ebay and myself, and lovin' every minute of being creative. I've missed this since school started. It's good to be home.

Camden's not feeling well tonight. He had a fever this evening and fell asleep before 8:30. So I KNOW he's ill. No church for him tomorrow. Bless his heart. He goes and goes and goes. And when he's sick, well, he just stops. God bless you, Camden, with good health for tomorrow.

And while I'm on good health...God has answered a prayer! Al doesn't have cancer!!!!!!! What a blessing. This wonderful man has a growth in his lungs, but the doctors don't believe it's cancer. Thank the Lord!!!!!! I cannot imagine the relief he's feeling, but I imagine it must be akin to starting over. What a blessing.

Like father like son

Camden started Cub Scouts tonight and Benjy got two Darth Vaders. A big day for all in our house. Sounds simple, huh? Well, Cub Scouts is the beginning of a new era for Camden. Curt was an Eagle Scout and is not ready to volunteer as a helper to other young boys trying to achieve the same thing. Camden is so proud. He came home, took off his uniform, and gently laid it out. So proud. Makes his momma proud, too.

As for the Darth Vaders, well, Benjy is Darth Vader for Halloween. And he has talked about nothing more for more than a week now about NEEDING TWO DARTH VADERS. He's not been rude, or a beggar. Just convinced. So, since Camden had his special thing tonight, I spoiled Benjy by taking him out for two Darth Vaders. Cheap enough. Easy enough. And already one has a broken arm and a missing helmet. But the smiles and animated playing he had were soooo worth it all.

Rescue Heroes

Camden's decided he's not ready to part with his gigantic collection of Rescue Heroes after all. Yesterday he dragged nearly every action figure, vehicle, animal, backpack, and accessory to the side yard. I swear, it looked like Fisher Price exploded. Of course, I got to help put it all back in the garage. After having the night to consider the mess of toys, he told me this morning that he still wants them. Scrapped are the plans to sell them on ebay. (Much to my relief, actually.) So today, while he was at karate earning a High Five for his knife hand strike, I lugged his toys back up to his room, set up the command centers (he only has THREE!!!), made space for the huge Rubbermaid box filled with the heroes and their baggage in his closet, and surprised him with the whole set-up. It was kind of like Christmas.

I'm really quite happy he's holding on to these guys. The've been with us since he was three years old. It's nice to know that he's not outgrowing his boyhood so quickly.

On another note, he was in class with me again today. Another wonderful day for me to share my classroom with my son. He is a smart little boy, but it is a bit trying to separate Mom from Teacher mode. No news yet as to tomorrow. I'm actually hoping he'll come with me so he can go to Chapel with us, as we do every Tuesday. I think he'd really enjoy that.