Good Job, Andrew!

Andrew came home yesterday with a nice surprise in his backpack:

He and his team won second place in the Rube Goldberg Competition at his school – way to go, Andrew!

And…he actually got out of bed on time today and even had enough time to have breakfast before school without jamming it down…what exactly is going on here?!?! 

If this is another change, I like it. 🙂

Where Do All the Socks Go?????

How can I have this many SINGLE black socks and still not have a pair?!?!?!?!?!

Another Warm Day…

Marie and I took our kindergartners to the park this morning – it was almost 70 degrees again today!  Lots of other parents had the same idea…such a beautiful day…

More Changes…

So you all know that I’m going to be going back to work soon (change number one).

And…I’m switching to a ‘hobby’ Stampin’ Up! demonstrator instead of a ‘business’ demonstrator (change number two).

And…that I won’t be teaching at Rowan University next semester (change number three – did I mention this on my blog yet? I was bumped from my spring class by a full-time professor who needed another class).

And…that my kids will be starting the before-and-after-school program at their elementary school (change number four).

And…that I really don’t like change.

But this weekend, I received news of another change. Our senior pastor is leaving our church.

I am the chairperson of the Staff/Parish Relations Committee in our church (basically the Methodist Church’s equivalent to a human resources department) and so I first received the news late last week. Our pastor announced it to the congregation yesterday during the church services.

I have been on this committee for two years and in that time, we have lost an associate pastor, gained another associate pastor, lost that associate pastor, moved into a brand new church building, hired a youth pastor, retired a secretary, hired a secretary, lost that secretary (after one week), brought a secretary out of retirement, hired a new secretary, re-retired a secretary and then hired three brand new custodians.

That’s a lot of change.

But I wasn’t ready for this. This is a BIG change.

Our pastor was one of the main reasons I went back to church after so many years. She is relatable, personable, a strong woman and above all is gifted spiritual leader. It is because of her that my own faith has strengthened so much over the last few years – well…because of her and because of God. But she certainly helped! 🙂

She’ll be here for another six months while we transition and find a new pastor.

I still have one more year on the committee – my second year as the committee chair.

And I have so much change in my life right now.

I know God will lead me to where he wants me to be…but it’s still difficult (what with me being such a control-freak and all).

Someone gave the analogy the other day of life being like a puzzle – try as we might, we just can’t see how all of the pieces will eventually fit together. That’s because we’re not the ones with the lid – God has that. Only God can see the full photograph of the entire puzzle that’s on that lid to the puzzle box. And there’s no use even trying to put a puzzle together without the lid, right?…

January Thaw

We had a really nice warm day today – it was 64 degrees!  The kids had a chance to get outside and play for the first (and probably last) time in a while. 

Here is some of their sidewalk chalk art:

Andrew’s Obsession

So what’s a 13-year-old boy’s favorite pastime during the cold winter months (and all year long)?  Playing RuneScape, of course. 

What’s that – you don’t have a 13-year-old boy and have never heard of RuneScape?   Oh…then let me fill you in.

RuneScape is an online video game that is the latest ‘thing’ with our son Andrew and his friends.   According to the RuneScape Parent’s Guide, it is a MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game).  When I just logged on, there were over 171,000 users currently online playing the game – that’s definitely ‘massive’.

What is not mentioned in the Parent’s Guide is that the game has a highly addictive quality similar to that of nicotine.  Or heroin.  Or some other equally addictive substance.

If Andrew’s going to be addicted to something, I guess I’d rather it were RuneScape instead of some of the alternatives…

Knitting with Kitty

I’ve neglected my knitting for the last few months since I’ve been focused on so many other craft projects lately.  Yesterday, I decided to make myself a cozy winter scarf to freshen up my knitting skills.  

I’d also like to try some more advanced knitting projects this winter.  Right now, I can only knit squares and rectangles – so if you need a scarf or a potholder, you’re in luck; but if you need pair of socks or mittens, I’m afraid I can’t help you.

Here is my cat Jingles joining me for a cold winter afternoon under a warm blanket while knitting my soon-to-be-warm scarf:

Crafty Kid

Emily loves crafts – sometimes I think she loves them even more than I do!  She always has the dining room table covered with paper, crayons, stickers, glue…there’s never room to actually use the table to eat!  Hmmm…sounds like she needs her own crafting space. 

Anyway, here she is creating today’s masterpiece:

I Love Mr. Brown!

This is one of my favorite sights to see on a cold, winter afternoon:

Nothing like a little visit from Mr. Brown to make you smile!

As I’m opening the box, I feel like a kid on Christmas morning…actually, this IS my Christmas morning! 

Mike and I didn’t exchange gifts this year due to budgetary restraints (a nice way to say that we’re broke), so I took the Christmas money I received from from my parents and bought myself a few preview stamp sets and some paper.

Merry Christmas to me!!!!

I Won a PaperCrafts Contest!

I just got a call from CK Media (anytime you see THAT on your caller id, pick it up right away!) that I was one of the winners of the World Card Making Day Contest in PaperCrafts magazine! I won in the Hello/Thinking of You category with a card similar to this one:

I made this card for a SCS challenge a few months ago – we were asked to use brads on a card for the “Ways to Use It” challenge.  I’m sure glad I did that challenge!  The actual card I entered was just slightly different – I matted each of the circles and changed the patterned paper choices a bit before sending it in to the contest.

I won a $175 prize package full of wonderful card making supplies and my card will be published in the March 2008 issue of PaperCrafts magazine. I’m so excited – this just made my day!