Hockey Night

I was at the game but no proof. I'm always on the wrong side of the camera.

This hockey thing has become a weekly event for my family. To be more specific, 2 out of 2 weeks...first the Mavs and tonight the Lancers. Strangely enough the most exciting part of the night for Emma was the fight. Reagan was a little disturbed by it and Olivia was completely oblivious that there was even a hockey game going on.

Friday Night

It's a quiet night in the house. Just me and "The Green Mile". What a story!

Tonight presents the perfect opportunity to get some scrapbooking done. The girls are going to bed and Chris is at a movie with the guys. However, I've gotta admit it's nice to just hang out with a good movie and a warm blanket.

Her Happy Place

Today Olivia's dream came true.

Mommy and Livie hung out at the Happiest Place on Earth, affectionately known as "Pizza Fachine". Just a warning to all parents, if you have not taken your children to the Pizza Machine...DON'T!!! It's one of those places that you spend WAY too much for a not so good pizza buffet. Then you spend even more on tokens for games that earn you tickets and if you manage to collect 10,000 tickets you may take home a bouncy ball.

We shared our fun filled day with friends Brewer and Wesley.

Girls Scrappy Weekend

Did you know PF Chang's has happy hour? This was news to me but certainly helped out with the food budget for the weekend. Yummy Lettuce Wraps!! I believe we celebrated our 10th semi-annual scrapbook weekend in Omaha. Not only do I get to hang out with my dear friends Kimberly and Susan but we enjoy all our favorite restaurants... PF Changs, Cheesecake Factory, Hu Hot, Chipolte and Newman's Pasta. With a line up like that we should have also hit the treadmill.
This year we "camped" out at the Raabe Hotel. The hubby and girls went to Nana & Papa's house so we were free to scrap, eat cheesecake and laugh until the wee hours of the night.

I started strong, got my first layout done before Kimberly even got her paper out but as always she kicked my butt in the final count on Sunday afternoon. Susan was running on low energy thanks to a cold and an infected computer (mine).

Today I got back to work at the scrapbook table. The first 8 client layouts of 2010 have been created. Whew! I'm on a roll.

On a very serious note, I want to draw your attention to Haiti. By now you all should be aware of the disaster that small country has undergone. Two things... 1. please pray for everyone over there. 2. do something to help. Be careful to give only to reputable organizations, we want to be good stewards of every dollar spent. Below you will find a site and blog for an orphanage in Haiti. You can send items to the Colorado address or donate money via the site. It's safe and in great need. Just $5 or $10 from EACH of us will help save a life.
Interesting I just noticed the scripture of the day starts out like this...
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
Be generous!

http://glahaiti.org

http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org

God’s Littlest Angels

2085 Crystal River Dr.

Colorado Springs, CO 80915

Be A Blessing!

Taking A Leap

My first scrapbook was created about 25 years ago, yes that was before scrapbooking was an industry. Most people stuck 3x5 pictures in an album (the kind that ruin your photos), I went beyond that. My bedroom floor was full of cut out words, phrases and pictures from magazines and the local newspaper, all the while being careful to keep special documents to help me remember the event. Now, I don't want to brag but I've gotta say I was way beyond my time and only 12 years old. I didn't know anything about acid free products or safety in preserving memories but then, neither did anyone else.

Today my scrapbook room is knee deep in every scrappy item available, except for a great cutting machine such as a Cricut Expression. I read magazines, surf the web and chat with my buddies at ScrapLove.com in hopes to find my inspiration for a new layout. In the last week I have managed to complete 14 layouts. Two more to go and they will be ready to be shipped to a client in Kansas.

What started out as a hobby has now turned into a business. In 2010 my goal is to take my business to the next level. Maybe I'm not at the "leaping" stage but certainly I have started the "baby steps." Parents today are over worked, over scheduled and in desperate need of some help. My baby book is rather empty, so sad...I'm the 3rd child and who had time to record first steps, first tooth, first time on a bike or that family vacation back in 1979. Scrapbooking is very time consuming and I am willing to take on the responsibility of preserving memories for busy families in personalized unique photo layouts.

What can you do? You can encourage me. You can keep me accountable (don't let me chicken out). And don't forget to pray for me to have wisdom, success and balance with my own family.

I will keep you posted on my baby steps and hope to have a website full of information soon.

It's Cold!!!

I am so sick of weather conversations. "Look at all that snow!" "Can you believe how cold it is?" "I wonder if we'll have school today." Really people, I think the sub-zero temps have frozen your brain cells leaving you unable to communicate about ANYTHING else.

Next week when the Lord blesses us with 33 degree days, my husband says he is going to wear shorts. See the freezing winds have messed with his mind as well.

Have a blessed day no matter where you live. If it happens to be under the snow drifts of Nebraska then be sure to bundle up and stay in the house.

Christ Community Church - News Feed - Personal growth plan

Christ Community Church - News Feed - Personal growth plan

Personal Evaluation

Since I quit working, in a professional sense, I also quit setting goals and taking a serious/realistic look at what I am doing and what I want to do. Sunday our pastor gave out Personal Growth Plan 2010 sheets. I am ready to fill it out, won't you join me? How else will I know if my life has changed for the better between now and December 2010. I sure hope I have spiritually grown in the last year but I don't have anything to look back on to check myself.

Because I feel strong about this I am going to list the categories and I hope you all take a look at this and do it yourself. If you don't hold a spiritual belief, this still can be a great tool to use. Consider making yourself a better person, whatever that statement means to you.

I have included some examples:

Name: (should be easy for you)

Personal mission statement: (I have no idea what I'll write here)

Broad goals for this year:
Increase personal health & vitality
Practice intentionality for spiritual growth

Spiritual disciplines:
study the bible 5 days a week
memorize one verse a month

Influencing relationship:
Peers:
Mentors: I need one of these
Seekers:
Disciples: my most important...the 3 girls.

Ministry goals:
Pray with the girls every night. Read from the bible 4 times a week with the girls.

Reading: (I've heard 15 min per day = 15 books a year) Leaders are readers!

Experiences:

Personal habits, skills, goals:
work out 4 days a week
turn my scrapbooking into a real business


Tweek this anyway you want to but I strongly suggest you do this. In December we'll look back at what worked, what didn't and what you'll add to your 2011 growth plan.

Now trade your plan with a friend, spouse or anyone who will love you and hold you accountable. This is not an unrealistic list of things that will look good. Rome wasn't built in a day.

You can find this form at www.cccomaha.org



On a different note, thought I'd share a picture of the girls outside today. In case you are wondering, Reagan is standing on the sidewalk. The snow by the street is almost as talk as I am and the snow in our yard is 3-4 feet high depending where you are. It warmed up to 10 degrees so I let the girls play in the snow for about 20 minutes today. Crazy girls!

That is an icicle that Emma is holding, now it's in the deep freeze.