Waterman's World~Enjoying the Journey

Organized Flexibility: A Military Spouses' Mantra

2012-01-11T09:16:00.000-08:00

Thankfully this is not the amount of stuff we are moving! But the idea is the same!

There is just no other way to describe how I am approaching this move back to the Gulf Coast. Truly, there is no other way to describe what every military spouse must do when approaching their moves--whether it is an official PCS (if you're not military, this means "Permanent Change of Station") or more of an elective move, such as ours.

I am fully aware we created the bit of chaos we're in right now. As I write, I'm in a hotel and will be in one for several days, as we travel, search for a new home, and get settled. I have high hopes the process will not take long, but one can never tell.

Back to flexibility. In September of '11 I made plans for a video shoot in TX for a youth gathering. I knew the best dates to shoot were not my best dates, but it had to happen. As we approached the end of our time in FL, my husband's leave date kept changing--sometimes by weeks, sometimes by days. No big deal, really. Meanwhile, the video shoot, while it went well, didn't go as smoothly as I planned. The talent were great, but we had some things pop up that I wish I could have had the experience to side-step. Live and learn. But I realized then, that at least a plan helped us be flexible in the end. We had to be flexible in order to make it all happen. The same holds true for our move and any military move.

There are little things about PCSing that civilians realize. For example, we could get orders in January to move in June, begin to prep for the move and then the orders could be cancelled or changed in May. It's just reality. While the orders may remain with the same location, the dates may change--by weeks or days. Other times we may get orders and have just a couple of months to prep and move. And then there is my personal favorite, the person in the military may have to go ahead for training, leaving the majority of the move to the spouse--this seems to happen frequently.

For these reasons, and many others, the spouses I have come to know and respect, are incredible organizers, but also incredibly flexible. They make it happen because they have to, and very rarely do they complain. It becomes the next "war" story at the next social and everyone joins in and laughs about what they just survived and made happen.

Book Review: Troubling a Star

2012-01-02T09:47:00.000-08:00

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/129647.Troubling_a_Star" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px">http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171988432m/129647.jpg" />Troubling'>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/129647.Troubling_a_Star">Troubling a Star by Madeleine'>http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/106.Madeleine_L_Engle">Madeleine L'Engle

My rating: 3'>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/249932591">3 of 5 stars

As requested :)...

I must have picked this book up years ago when I was on a "Wrinkle in Time" kick, but then it just sat there. Therefore I wasn't aware the book is actually a part of a series of books about the Austin family. Thankfully that really wasn't an issue in reading the book in terms of background.

I gave it three stars because I did like it, but I wouldn't put it on my "must read" list. I think it is geared for a select crowd of youth--most likely junior high in age group--and also interested in science. L'Engle goes into great detail about the Antarctic, which is great, but that could be a turn-off to those who are not interested in science. I would say the language gives this away as a book from the nineties, but it is still a relevant read.

Storyline-wise, I think L'Engle brings the reader along rather well and doesn't give away too much too soon. I loved her use of Shakespeare as hints and warnings. I thought the wrap-up at the end was actually a bit too quick and not really that plausible.

In summary, not my favorite read, but certainly not the worst either.

View'>http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3512798-kari">View all my reviews

2011 Reads

2012-01-01T17:43:00.000-08:00

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3512798-kari?read_at=2011&view=covers&per_page=50

This is the list of 41 books I read in 2011. I'm thrilled with the number the number and quality of books I read this past year. I made some great headway in my quest to read all of the Newberry Medal books, as well as reading some modern classics.

My focus in 2012 is to read 50 books and focus on reading more of the L.M. Montgomery books in my collection. I believe I have all of the books and short stories she published, but I have not read many of the lesser known books. (She is the author of the Anne of Green Gables series.)

Happy reading in 2012!

Little Word: Renew

2012-01-01T17:26:00.000-08:00

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

There is a lot happening in the next three weeks and I haven't had the best attitude towards it...till today. There will be much joyous renewal...renewing friendships, activities, etc. I'm hoping it is also a time of renewing my relationship with Christ and renewing my love of a healthy lifestyle.

I finally found peace in leaving here and I'm thankful for that peace.

Christmas In Pictures

2012-01-01T17:18:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Guy Time

Universal Tree

In Suessland!

Love Butterbeer.

Always taking different paths.

The Picture I Didn't Get

2011-12-15T06:07:00.000-08:00

The boys arrived late last night and were definitely on West Coast time. We had to crash sometime after 11, but we asked them to either read or draw quietly. They are also "camping" out under our little tree rather than bringing the bunk beds back for just two weeks. Anyways, I had to check on something and I came down to the two of them drawing in their composition books by tree light. I'm sure my description doesn't do it justice, but just picture two boys peacefully drawing by white Christmas lights. It made my heart full.

Makes Me Smile

2011-12-13T17:24:00.000-08:00

I'm catching up on my 2011 scrapbook. This picture, and the next, are from a store in Downtown Disney. They make me think of this blogger because she loves color as much as I do.

These boys love "Star Wars"! I just love the crisp shot of D and everything else in motion.

And then this one is on its way to Grandparents as gifts. It just makes me smile. D with his usual impishness and I is laughing and not giving me sixth grade cool-man attitude.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-07T18:10:00.000-08:00

Worthy of a Read

2011-11-30T08:44:00.000-08:00

I love this article: http://www.scoutiegirl.com/2011/11/building-your-creative-bookshelf.html I was her! Although I don't think I had nearly the collection she had accumulated. But in my first few years of teaching, I bought numerous works of literature because I thought I should read them--and then they sat on my shelves--some for almost ten years now. I purged quite a few before moving from SA to MS, although it was difficult to admit that I really had NO desire to read "Catch-22." In MS, I joined a book club and adored reading different genres and in general, renewed my love of reading.

This past year I've read forty books! In 2010 I only read about twenty, so you see how intentional I have become in my reading. There were several factors that helped me along the way:

1. We didn't have cable, so there were less distractions.
2. Jason deployed to FL and so there were even less distractions. (Comparing the first part of the year to the last part--I read twenty-five books in the first six months of the year. I have only read fifteen since July--considerable slowdown.)
3. I renewed my desire to read all of the Newberry Medal books--some of which were waiting for me on my bookshelves, while others I have found at the library.
4. I only read what I want to read and I do not read what I think I "should" read. I'm much more likely to pick up the book and read it regularly if I'm enjoying it.

The books leaning to the right have been read. There were five more, but I sent them back to their owner. :)

When I moved to FL I brought a certain number of books--I had hopes that I would get through the majority of them before we moved again. Alas, that wasn't quite the case. Again, distractions, and also borrowing other books from friends and the library. I'm also pondering if I want to read some of the titles on my shelves. "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" was incredible, but also gritty and emotional--I have to be in the right frame of mind to continue the series, so those books sit.

Those are my literary ramblings for today.

Cheers!

Gettin' Crafty

2011-11-29T08:47:00.000-08:00

I never have less than three or four projects percolating at one time. That's just me. One such project has been on my mind for a couple of years. My Aunt Bev showed me a darling Christmas tag she though I could reproduce for her, since I am the artsy one in the family. I took the tag and tucked it away. I finally decided I needed that project off my mind.

Here is what she wanted me to replicate:

Very pretty. These were some of my better attempts at the tree using watercolors:

Kind of got there, but I didn't feel like I could do that for many tags. I turned to Storybook Creator 4.0, my digital scrapbooking software. Here are two different results:

I'm happy. Now to buy some good paper to print them on--I have some, but it is in storage. Everything feels as though it is in storage right now.

Weekend Roundup

2011-11-21T07:17:00.000-08:00

Friday: We ran in a 13.1 relay on base. We each ran a mile. I actually got my time down to 9:30--I usually run about a 12 minute mile, so this was a huge accomplishment for me!

Saturday: One marathon of a day. It began with sleeping in. :) Then I ran and we got ready for our day. We had lunch at IKEA--a rather inexpensive and great lunch. After all of that, we headed to Clearwater to the "Festival of Trees" held at their rec center. It was darling. Each tree was decorated with a different theme--they were then auctioned off by Sunday to raise funds for various organizations. The most clever, in my opinion, was game themed. The mom and daughter team had made garland out of SCRABBLE pieces, made stars out of decks of cards or TRIVIA cards, and had filled clear glass balls with the houses from MONOPOLY and TRIVIA.

There was also a great tree dedicated to Mardi Gras that I thought was wonderful!

From there we stopped by the Hixon park, which is right next to the Tampa Art Museum. It has this great installation of pinwheels made out of license plates, which are attached to bases in the shapes of states. It's done by Michael Kallish and it's just great.

From Clearwater we headed back to Tampa for the Auto Show, which was located just down the street from us. I've never spent five hours at an auto show. It was enlightening and humbling because I had no idea what a brand new Lexus or BMW cost and now I do...and now I know I will probably never own one. :)

The end of the night was lovely. We had dinner at Columbia Cafe and walked back home. This is a view from the bridge that takes us over to our "island". It was a gorgeous night.

Sunday: Church and rest :)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-16T09:36:00.000-08:00

Latest Projects

2011-11-15T18:20:00.000-08:00

In the last week I have completed several projects. The most notable, in my world, is traditionally scrapbooking my freshman year of college! I haven't focused on traditional scrapbooking in awhile, but I have a lofty goal of finishing college in the next four weeks. Yikes! So, to work I must go. Below are two pages. I've also completed many digital calendars that will be Christmas gifts, which is why I can't post them right now. I did include a page from our 2011 album of Jason's promotion. I love the textures and layers!

All projects were created using Creative Memories products.

October Highlights

2011-11-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

Crazy, crazy month. I was home for five days out of the first fifteen days of the month! While home, we made the most of it. We worked on the flag detail at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game. It was my first NFL game and it was a blast, even from the nose-bleed section.

The big highlight came towards the end of the month. Jason passed his promotion test, which now makes him a Master Sergeant! He tested out-of-cycle due to his deployment, which also meant he could tack on his stripes soon after receiving his test results. I got to "help" tack on his stripes, as is evidenced in the second-to-last picture. :-) One must uphold tradition!

Dad: "Who's idea was this?"

2011-10-23T16:54:00.000-07:00

Me: YOU wanted to run one more marathon before you turn 60 in December.

Dad: Why did you let me do this?

True conversation between miles 19 and 20 of the IMT Des Moines marathon on October 16th.

We finished. Kelly finished in 3:55. Dad and I finished in 6:41. Neither of us is particularly overjoyed with our times, but for crash marathon training, they are amazing. Finishing is amazing.

I can't complain. I can walk without pain after just a week. Dad can too. We're all happy to be done with 3 and 4 hour training runs on the weekends. But we're happier we did it together.

Here are the highlights:

Praying with Dad and Kelly before the race.
Seeing Mom, Ben (Kelly's husband), and his family cheering us on at mile 8.
Running through the Drake University stadium.

Having the previous conversation with my Dad.
Kelly joining us at mile 23 and walking the rest of the way with us.

Crossing the finish line with Dad and Kelly while the announcer is telling everyone about Dad doing this before turning 60.

I think we're all up for a half-marathon down the line...but not this month. :-)

Life Isn't Perfect

2011-09-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm in the minority when it comes to this book...at least amongst my friends. I enjoyed it. I think it's a realistic look at codependency and, while it didn't go into great depth, it showed how a son was able to break away from his mother's codependency.

I also thought it was a realistic look at how life changes as we move into middle-age and later. I thought several of the couples highlighted in different chapters were rather sweet, especially in how they forgave each other's mistakes and continued to love each other.

Life isn't perfect and I think this book demonstrated that well. More importantly, I think it highlighted how life goes on, even when it doesn't do so perfectly. I thought the ending was hopeful...even a crabby, codependent woman can find a reason to live life and find someone who wants to live a life with her.

View all my reviews

I'm A Collector...

2011-08-25T14:28:00.000-07:00

Of CRAP!

Okay, not all of it, but a lot of it. And it seems this has been a problem since my teen years. (I'm not a hoarder. I can walk through all of my rooms just fine, but it still seems that I have way too much that I/we don't use). Proof that it's been an ongoing issue?

Exhibit A. This is me in my parent's van, about to leave for college. We couldn't fit my sister into the van! How sad is that? Should have known then.

I have always kept too much. I look back now and think, "why?" Why did we have to bring all of that stuff, especially at one time? Why, did I keep, throughout college, textbooks from classes with no bearing on my career later, and then later toss them when I moved to my first post-college home? Why, why, why?

First, I like a good deal. Second, I like to think I can reuse and re purpose some things. Third, it's genetic. I have a predisposition to cute paper products and cute things in general. Oh, and again, I like a good deal.

Fast forward to the last month. The end of July and beginning of August have had one theme. "Purge"! At first it was, "purge, pack, stack", and then later, just "purge"!

This is one of two truck loads of "treasures" I brought to the thrift store.

We unloaded a lot...we each had brought furniture from our "single" homes and worked them together. But we really didn't love many of the items. So, moving gives you a great opportunity to purge and make way for something new. We put bookshelves out in our apartment hallway with signs "free to a good home." They were gone within hours. That's great! I'm happy to help others.
Once we got to Florida, it was time to go through more...this time, mainly clothes. Wow, I had gotten rid of a lot in those two truck loads, but apparently it was time for more! This is pile number 1. Jason created pile number 2 and it's awaiting transportation to a thrift store. There will be a pile number 3 when I go through my true winter clothes and wash them all. I can already think of one sweater that needs to go.

Purging is cathartic. It certainly makes way for the new. It's eye-opening to see exactly what you don't need. I didn't think there would be that much, but as I looked at items and decided that, even if they still fit (ugh), I wouldn't wear them, I needed to let go. I needed to face the fact that I don't need three black dresses anymore because I don't go to that many weddings, I mean events, anymore. It feels good.

It means shopping! Kidding! Kinda...

No More Melancholy After 9 PM

2011-08-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I officially cannot read melancholy books before going to bed. I can't sleep afterwards...even during hopeful chapters. Aside from being melancholy, I really enjoyed this coming-of-age classic.

It's convicting to read about a family struggling in Broodlyn, NY to survive on pennies a day (set in the early 1900s). It's also conviciting to read about how our country really hasn't changed in 100 years. We still struggle with poverty, educating our children, and yet we're still striving to grow and be on the forefront of progress.

I loved the prose and the determined spirit Smith gives to Francie and her mother, Katie. Katie displays the best of sacrifice. She realizes her husband will never be able to fully care for the family and she steps up, uncomplainingly, to help them survive. I admire her for not leaving her husband to find someone else to care for them. Katie understand commitment.

Wonderful book, but must be read during the day. :-)

View all my reviews

And This Is How It Went...

2011-08-08T06:32:00.000-07:00

June 21, 2011

Phone Message from J: Hi Hon. Just called to chat. Call me back. Nothing wrong, just wanted to chat.

Jason never calls from work and never calls "just to chat."

Me: Hi, what's up?

Jason: What do you have planned for this afternoon?

Me: Oh, probably the library and then the pool.

Jason: Want to go condo-shopping instead?

Me: You're frickin' kiddin' me.

Jason: No, the extension went through. We're staying in Tampa.

Me: You're frickin' kiddin' me.

(I repeated that phrase about eight times.)

And thus began our move to Tampa. We found out three weeks before his (first) deployment ended that the extension went through and we were staying till January.

So what did we do?

WE WENT TO DISNEY WORLD!

We did move into our condo before the trip, but Disney is how we spent 4th of July weekend. We debated going back to Biloxi to pack and try to move stuff, but decided our time with the boys is so short, we wanted to just be with them. This was Jason's only vacation time while we had the boys, so it was important to spend time with them.

Two weeks later we came back to Mississippi and packed. Jason had some guys from work come over and help move the big stuff. That was nothing, if not crazy. Then I headed to SA for a youth gathering meeting--tons of fun and much better than packing. Then back to Biloxi, where more of Jason's friends came and helped put almost the rest of our stuff in storage. Insane! I can't even show you the storage pictures because at the time, things were a little precarious. Jason fixed it a bit and now nothing will topple over.

Jason came back, loaded the truck and the boat and headed back to Tampa. I stayed and cleaned, loaded up and drove to Tampa a day later.

Fasted move ever! I took about three loads of "treasures" to the thrift store. Trashed a few things and now I'm washing every bit of clothing we own to get the stale, smoke smell from our old place out of them. We had done a pretty good job getting the smell out, but once we were in a fresh place, we could still smell it. As things get washed, I am beginning another "purge" pile. And yet I still have a full closet and dresser!

Back in training

2011-06-16T11:12:00.000-07:00

This was me a couple of weeks ago. I stubbed my little toe on a box in my office. It hurt...more than the usual stubbed toe. That night I thought I had popped it back into place. However, 1 1/2 weeeks later, it still hurt and was swollen. After an x-ray, by technitions young enough for me to have recently taught, my Dr. determined I had a fracture...a healing fracture...but a fracture nontheless.

Ah! This meant no running for a week...or two. Ah!

I made it little over a week just doing yoga and some stationary bike work. It no longer hurts all the time, but I still keep it taped, especially when exercising.

I'm so torn because obviously I want it to heal. But I need to begin training for the October marathon my Dad, sister and I are going to run. So, slowly we will go till it is healed. I've done just 2 1/2 miles runs on the treadmill this week, plus a little beach biking.

Hoping to do more soon!

Summer Begins

2011-06-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

It's a good morning when you can watch your Dad play gatorball, ride bikes for an hour and then come home for some downtime. Happy times!

Rolling With It

2011-06-02T18:42:00.000-07:00

So I totally thought I'd be posting this right about now...

There is something about me that attracts numerous changes all at once and in a short period of time. I don't think I seek it out, but I'm going to have to do some more reflecting some other time. Because right now, I'm packing. Not for a weekend, a week, or even a month. For six months. Yep, moving in less than two weeks for just six months. Let me back track.

Jason has been deployed stateside for four months and has just under two months left. He's requested a six-month extension and we've been approved. For a variety of reasons, I'm going to move to be with him for the remainder of his deployment. We just got approval and we're trying to get it all done by Memorial Day. Why? Several reasons...
1. We get the boys for a part of the summer. Obviously that time will be spent with Jason. I don't want to pay rent for time that I'm not going to be here.
2. It just makes sense.
Really, that was just one reason for the move before Memorial Day. But I've had a few months to mentally prepare. Jason broached the subject a few months ago, but there is a particular time-frame in which the military makes extension decisions, and so we had to wait.
I began making lists a few weeks ago. Lists for things I really must have with me for six months. Lists of things I must do this week, including host book club (I'm looking forward to that). Lists of people I must email, must drop by and see in person, lists of things I want to purge.
I've been purging for months. Mostly little things, but enough to make me feel as though most things will just get packed away for six months. Jason gave me a list of large items we'll also purge before moving our stuff into storage.
It's going to be quite a week. I'm looking forward to the time with Jason. I'm not looking forward to the good-byes. I'm not good with good-byes. I much prefer "see you laters."
I've been reciting Phillipians 4:13 in my head for the last few days. I think it shall continue till I'm through.

But what we thought was probable approval is really more of a possibility and so we are on hold. I had my office PACKED! But when things changed, I stopped packing. No need to pack it all when we may just be staying put. We forgot one of the rules of being in the Air Force, "never plan till you have the papers signed and on your desk!"

And we don't know when we'll know. We'll know when we'll know.

One of my BFFs texted me and said, "I'd be beside myself if I were you." And as I told her, I could be, but it wouldn't do me a bit of good because it wouldn't change anything.
Fun, huh?

I'm going to go back to pondering what I want this blog to be about. I think it lacks purpose, which is why it often lacks posts.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

I took some time the Monday I returned from Tampa to put these cards together for my mother, mother-in-law, and two grandmothers. I like the simplicity of them. I also like that I used resources already available to me. I'm becoming kinda of big on that lately. I have LOTS of paper, and it won't all make it to an album, but it can help brighten somebody's day!

On Thursday these arrived! Aren't they gorgeous?! The picture probably doesn't do them justice. I was quite surprised and happy to have something so beautiful to look at for awhile.

I spent my Mother's Day with friends. I actually made a full dinner, set the table, used cloth napkins...and made a healthy dessert--Blueberry crumble. We had wonderful conversation and a good time all the way around.

I really do love to entertain and I'm kicking myself that I didn't have some of these friends over before Jason left town. Why didn't I? Seems so silly now. Jason and I agreed, we have to make more of an effort because we do enjoy it a great deal!

Finally Friday...Thankful, albeit, a day late.

2011-05-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

Made it Two Years!!

Ultimately I'm thankful for two years of marriage to Jason and almost three years of being together.

I'm thankful we were able to spend a week together, which meant celebrating our anniversary together in Tampa.

I got to embrace my inner artist and visit the Dali Museum in Tampa...

where I viewed some gorgeous flowers outside of it.

And then a baseball game on top of everything else! It was a fabulous week.

Back to reality.

Thankful Thursday

2011-04-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

...Time in Tampa...
...Two blessed years of marriage...
...a week to relax...
...loooong conversations with old friends...
...future possibilities...
...time to read...
...time to reflect...
...time to plan...

Wordless Wednesday-Easter Sunday with Jason's Family

2011-04-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

Crafty Things

2011-04-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

I've been a little crafty lately. The top is a card I threw together for a dear friend. A CM consultant had created these "CM girlfriends" last year and I had customers make them as make 'n' takes. They are hilarious!

Then next card is for a friend, but was also used as an example of our fantastic Cricut cartridges, particularly, Stork's Delivery.

The third is a layout I was challenged to do by a customer with our new Wish kit. I love the kit and it was perfect with these pics of the boys from their bowling tournament. I scraplifted it from our March/April catalog and just made a few minor changes.

The last is a tile from a class I took at a three-day crop a few weekends ago. Isn't it darling? I just love it!

I promise to work on my pictures of projects. :-)

Thankful Again

2011-04-21T12:13:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love all of these colors?! I wish they were all in my collection, but alas, they are not. I helped put on Bunko this week and my partner in crime is an avid Fiestaware gal herself. We had an Easter Bunny theme with all the appropriate colors. :-)

I'm thankful for...
...color, in everything...
...less than four days till I see Jason...
...1 year and 361 days...
...friends who offer support and advice as decisions loom...
...conversations with family...
...a busy couple of weeks to help time pass...
...Christ's death and resurrection for me...

Thankful Thursday

2011-04-14T06:46:00.000-07:00

Facebook chats with Jason....
Phone chats in the evening with Jason...
The encouragement Jason receives at his job...
The encouragement I receive from the KSC (Keesler Spouses Club)...
Awesome scrappers at the Craftscrappers weekend...
The Lord's guidance in our financial quest for freedom...
Books that make me smile...

Another week flying by...

The Good Stuff

2011-04-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

The week in Tampa was a blast. The boys love nothing more than playing on the beach, looking for shells, digging holes they can fit in...they love it all! We made it there twice after Jason got off work. The pictures speak for themselves, they were in heaven.

Creatively Organized

2011-03-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

I love this blog post regarding organization. I often found there is a great misconception out there that art is always messy. Anyone who walked into my art classroom would look around, then say, "Yup, looks like an art room." I would look around and woefully lament that it wasn't as organized and neat as it should be. But I think it is difficult to keep a multi-use art space spic and span. I was always comparing it to our college art building. As I look back, it was never really messy. Certain studios might be, but otherwise everything was in it's place.

Ha! I simple fact most organizers know...everything should have a place. I'll comment more on that in a moment.

I want to point out that all of my professors were incredibly organized and methodical. Many of them had very little on their desks, let alone anything to be construed as clutter. (Some might even have a touch of OCD, but who am I to judge?) And there was an expectation that we would keep the building clean as well, so as not to impede on the creative process.

Back to that misconception. The act of making art can indeed be messy. But that does not mean the space needs to be messy, nor that it should remain so. I have learned over the past year or so that I've been scrapping regularly, that I am much more likely to return to the process the next day, if I tidy up my area. This is also true in the kitchen. I cook much more frequently when the kitchen is cleaned up daily. It's just easier to make a mess if there is a clean area to make it in.

I find my thoughts much more flowing if my office area is tidied up. It will never be pristine. That I am sure. But it can be tidy and my desk area can be cleaned off so I can return to creativity soon.

These are my thoughts for the evening.

Yes, Nicole, I have...

2011-03-20T15:16:00.000-07:00

As Nicole pointed out in her comment on my last post, I have been quite the busy traveler. Below are the scrapbook pages from my trip up to South Dakota to sell my car and visit my parents.

For the last week and a half I have driven through Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, and Florida. And yes, I'm crazy and exhausted! I drove to San Antonio to visit friends and then pick up the boys to bring them to Tampa to visit Jason. Thankfully Jason got permission from his Chief to meet us in Biloxi to help out with the driving. He then got to drive us back this past weekend.

I will write more on that trip when I finish the pages. It was fantastic. I hated seeing Jason leave today. It was the first time I cried. I'm sure it won't be the last either.

But please know, I am richly blessed with many friends here in Biloxi and blessed to have Jason somewhere that is visitable.

More to come...

All Good Things Come To An End

2011-03-05T21:22:00.000-08:00

I uploaded our 2010 album today. 100 pages of sheer joy. 100 pages documenting how we grew into a family last year. I cannot wait for it to arrive.

The album is not the reason for my absence. I'm not sure I really have that many readers anyways, but Febuary was just busy! I visited Jason once, then he came to visit. Right after his visit, I began a massive roadtrip through the midwest up to the frozen tundra of South Dakota to visit my parents and sell them my car. That's right, my little Ford Focus is now Mom and Dad's little Ford Focus.

My roadtrip took me to Memphis to visit Sara Jane; through St. Louis where I stopped long enough to get gas at our old Quicktrip and eat Taco Bell down the street from Abiding Savior; then on to Iowa to spend the night and see family; picked up my Grandma Sass and brought her to Sioux Falls. It wasn't a particularly adventurous trip...thankfully...and I had "Rent" and other musicals to keep me company.

I loved seeing where Mom and Dad live...this was my first visit. I got to see some snow, drive on some ice, and enjoy hot chocolate everyday. What could be better?

Flip-flops. ;-) Just kidding...kinda. No, seriously, I enjoyed my trip and wish we all lived closer. March is gearing up to be a crazy month as well.

I'll try to post some pics from the trip, but for now, it's Mardi Gras here!

Take Me Back!

2011-02-09T20:15:00.000-08:00

We're getting "freezing" rain right now. It's cold. It's windy. And I want to go back here...

Where I got to see him...

And ate yummy Gelato....

And eat here...

Where they served this...

And again, I got to see him...

Sufficit to say, it was a fantastic weekend. J's surviving living in a place where they come in and straighten up his room everyday and where they serve a fruit, omelet, waffle, and cereal bar in the mornings. Along with a meal + wine four evenings a week. While it sounds delightful, it's difficult to be alone all the time and so on. It's just been a few weeks, so I'm sure that will improve in time.

While I like being home, I like it better with him. It's been another busy week, with the Mardi Gras half-marathon looming...not even just on the horizon...it's this Sunday! Woo-hoo!

January Wrap-Up

2011-02-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

I'm currently trying to participate in the 365 project...but it's difficult to find things to photograph besides food when one lives alone. Despite that fact, I've had a busy month with birthday celebrations and other events. The spouses club on base (KSC) went to a "Canvas and Cocktails" night. The teacher leads the group through painting, in our case, a pelican. It was tons of fun! Everyone was so nervous about their paintings, but they all did a fabulous job.

My Aunt Susan had sent me all the ingredients, sans the eggs, for a butterscotch dessert that was also fabulous. I brought it to the "Canvas and Cocktails" evening to share. I've been dying to bake, but I don't dare if I'm the only one around to consume it. I also baked cookies that week for a Saturday crop--the Chocolate Mint Delight recipe on the back of the Nestle dark chocolate and mint morsel bag is excellent!

As promised, I included the page layout from when one of my BFF's came into town for our annual weekend. It was also a ton of fun. We spent a day in NOLA enjoying art, cocktails and begniets. Love it!

A note on the first page, Jason took ONE bag with him. ONE! Men! I'm doing okay. I miss him of course, but I have managed to stay fairly busy everyday, so if I can keep that up, life will fly by.

Still training for the Mardi Gras Rock 'n' Roll. It's next week, so I'm in the tapering phase, which means less running and more cravings for carbs! It's much more under control than it was in November, that's for sure!

Happy Reading

January

2011-01-28T17:24:00.000-08:00

January has brought the celebrations of many birthdays, including Jason and myself. As well as Jason's departure for his deployment. Thankfully he is just deployed to Tampa, which gives us a chance to visit...very soon. :-)

But before all of that, we had birthdays. Jason turned 35 and all he wanted was a King cake. Thankfully that was easy to find since we're near Mardi Gras. I love the oxymoron in this picture. :-)

I used my Cricut to make Jason's card. Not too bad for the first-time.

We had a special pre-deployment dinner at our favorite Ocean Springs eatery, Kenny Wards. I'm also learning how to use my new phone and it's camera...fun, fun.

So much more has happened. Right after he left, one of my BFF came into town for our annual Dirty Thirty weekend. We were sans two due to life and babies, but we had fun nonetheless. Pics from that later.

2010 Is Almost Finished

2011-01-21T14:43:00.000-08:00

As many of you can relate, I get so much more done when I have structured time and a deadline. Hardcover Storybooks are 20% off this month, so I'm trying to finish our 2010 album by the end of the month and order it. I love a sale and a deadline to get stuff done! These are two-page spreads, but I haven't figured out how to upload them that way...another day.

Christmas Card Love

2011-01-08T07:28:00.000-08:00

I was thrilled when Creative Memories brought back the folded 7x5 and 5x7 cards. I love Christmas cards and I'm becoming one of "those" people that tries to out-do herself every year. I won't lie, I was pretty proud of this year's card. The front is an image from the Biloxi "green". I just love how this is so unique to where we are living right now. I wish I could send cards to everyone I know, but even with my discount, I had to keep the numbers lower than I'd like. Maybe some Valentine's cards for those I couldn't send Christmas cards to this year. Hmmm...

Front

Inside Top

Inside bottom

Back

Winter Wonderland Wild Times

2011-01-03T18:58:00.000-08:00

Well, a mega-road trip to Iowa and back has once again ended. The Lord provided the perfect amount of snow for the boys to experience their first "White Christmas." They were in heaven! As we drove out of Kansas City, there began to be snow left in the ditches and they would exclaim, "Whoa, look at all of that snow." It wasn't even covering the grass yet and as we got closer to Cedar Rapids, they were more and more amazed. It was great. There are more tales to tell, but for now I'll leave you with these two layouts of their first sledding experience.

Well done, good and faithful servant.

2010-12-13T09:33:00.000-08:00

The title was the theme for the eulogy at Jason's grandfather's funeral this past Friday. PawPaw Joe had been sick for quite some time and in the last few months his health had deteriorated quite rapidly. Everyone kept saying he wouldn't be with us much longer, and yet no one was prepared for him to leave us last Tuesday. We made it to Baton Rouge in time for Jason to say one last good-bye. PawPaw is credited with raising Jason and I'm thankful he had such a powerful impact on Jason. His faith in Christ was always evident and was repeatedly referred to as people expressed their condolences.

I'm thankful Jason was still here when PawPaw passed away. In all honesty, his presence didn't mean anything to PawPaw or to Jason in the end, but to Jason's family, it was important to have him there. Now we move forward, knowing our Redeemer lives and striving to live up to the legacy of Faith that was left to us by PawPaw.

Crafting JOY

2010-12-06T06:08:00.000-08:00

I was telling a friend last week that I have found too many crafty projects online in the last week that I would love to do. Realistically, maybe one, will actually come to fruition. BUT, I did finish one project last week I wanted to share. I bought this kit two years ago and finally made the JOY last week. The kit came with the wooden letters, paper, and embellishments. I just had to paint the sides, and attach the paper and ribbon with spray adhesive, and/or modge podge. I was pretty excited to have something new to display, and have it cost me nothing...this year. ;-)

I hope you're spreading JOY this CHRISTmas season!

Cozy Memories

2010-12-01T06:26:00.000-08:00

One of my warmest memories of Christmas in St. Louis is walking down the stairs and seeing the tree in the early morning hours. Mom always had it lit by the time I woke up and it gave the softest, most wonderful glow. It always gave me a sense of home.

I wanted to create that here, so I insisted we get a timer that could turn the lights on in the morning for a few hours and then again in the evening. I have actually been eager to wake up in the morning to enjoy drinking my coffee by the warm glow the tree emits.

What are you favorite memories?

What's 33 weeks out of 60 years?

2010-11-26T19:22:00.000-08:00

Jason's deployment...179 days, plus six weeks of training beforehand. But it's a short time compared to, say, the rest of our lives, right? I hope so. As many know, it takes a long time for me to process change. Thankfully we have two more months for me to process before he leaves. Two months for me to enjoy as much time with him as possible. I won't lie, I had a self-pity party for the first two weeks I processed the information. It's frustrating he'll lose out on his six weeks of summertime with the boys. It's frustrating that we decided to hold off on adding to our family till our next assignment...but now we're losing eight months of time together alone. I can't lie about wishing it were different. But wishful thinking won't change the reality that I married a man in the military and deployment is inevitable. Jason's had sixteen deployment-free years, which just means that his number was coming and I'd rather have it come now than later.

What am I going to do? Work my Creative Memories business like crazy, travel a bit, volunteer on base and at church, read, organize girls' nights at my place since I don't have to worry about kicking him out. :-) I've never had a problem keeping busy.

God is good and He's provided a multitude of people who will support me while Jason's away. He will keep Jason safe, I have no doubt.

To conclude, here are some pictures from our trip to San Antonio and Thanksgiving. Jason's PawPaw May is not in good health and any time we have with him is precious. We celebrated Ian's birthday while we were in SA a couple of weeks ago. I cannot believe how much the boys have grown in just the few years I've been blessed to have them in my life!

With PawPaw May

Excited to see their Daddy...and the large gift at his side.

Hmmm...wonder what's in there? (Guitar)

Game time at Dave 'n' Busters

Hanging out while bowling.

Ready, ready to run....all I want to do is have some fun!

2010-11-18T07:08:00.000-08:00

On the shuttle at 4 am!Porta pottys before they're out of TP.

Almost ready to go!

With Bethany, former roomie and now half-marathoner!

Wow, I can't believe the race has come and gone already! We trained for so long, but not well. I'd say this was the worst training I've ever done. Trying to train with Jason, but then work around his work schedule and my work schedule was difficult. We did manage to get in all of our long runs, but I wish we'd gotten in more running during the week.

Oh well, we kept our pace steady the entire race and ended in 2:45. The last mile was hard. Jason had more adrenaline in the end than I did, but I managed to stay with him. We survived the torturous incline at the very end and got our sparkly medals!

It was fun to see a former student running and then to meet up with Bethany and her family in the end. She swore she'd never run, and then poof! She's run three half-marathons now!

We saw the boys Friday night and Saturday during the day. It's never enough time, but it was still good.

Weekend With Authors

2010-11-07T18:55:00.001-08:00

What a weekend! The book club I belong to, "The Biloxi Book Babes" met Carolyn Haines, the author of "Them Bones," our October book selection! She is a native of Mississippi, currently living and teaching in Alabama. She was so charming and we really enjoyed having lunch with her.

Later, we were walking around The Peter Anderson Festival, a huge annual festival in Ocean Springs, and I came upon another author, Daisy Karem-Read. She wrote "From Manhattan to Mississippi," a great book I read prior to moving here that really did help me acclimate.

It was a fantastic day! The last picture a close-up of the our t-shirt design--by me. ;-) Just had to share!

Croptoberfest FUN

2010-10-21T12:51:00.000-07:00

Croptoberfest was a blast this year. I had eight ladies attend. Last year I had two attend, so I was very happy with this year's turnout. I had planned the event from 9 am to 9 pm. Most of the ladies stayed till between 4 pm and 5 pm. I had a couple of die-hards that stayed till 8:30, which was great.

I treated them to White Chili, cornbread, banana bread, Halloween oreos and lots more. Everyone went home with "Bright Autumn" photo mats and borders. Two of my digital customers worked on their digital calendars the entire time, plus bought some more digital stuff, so they got the "Bright Autumn" digital kit. That is what I have used for this layout.

I borrowed a Cricut from a friend to use our "Cheerful" cartridge to create some cute little pumpkins and the "Delicious Autumn" sign. I was pretty impressed with the Cricut expression, I have to admit--it's on my Christmas list now.

It was a fun day. I was tired by the end, but it was the type of tired you feel after a satisfying day.

Things I'm working on...

2010-10-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

Last October was a blur...a fog...so many changes and so little to do without a job. This October has been super-busy. First there was a three-day scrapbooking retreat, where I taught two classes and was a vendor. LOVE those ladies.

I'm working on my 2011 digital calendar...their 20% off this month!

And then my own Croptoberfest is this weekend. 9 am to 9pm crop...full of fun. The bottom pic is actually two of my namecards...printed on 4x6 photo paper and then I'll cut them in half, tape to a toothpick and stick them in an apple! How cute is that idea? I totally stole it from a great CM consultant. I can't wait for the weekend!

D.C-Day 1

2010-10-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

Everyday was amazing, just amazing. We didn't realize how enormous the buildings would be in D.C. Truly, I should have known, I've been to Europe, I know the city has turned to Roman architecture for many of it's buildings. But I was still impressed.

I was in awe as I stood at the base of the Washington monument and looked out around me. Then I was in awe as we made our way along the National Mall to the Lincoln Memorial. It was just wonderful and to see it in person was the fulfillment of a dream. To think of all of the people who have made history in that city and to see what they have seen. It just gives me goose bumps. I'm not very eloquent this morning...too early. But it was just awesome.

I had the opportunity in high school to fund raise and go to D.C. for a week and I chose not to do it. I'm not sure I would have appreciated the city then as I did now. I'm glad I saw it as an adult.

There was something going on at the White House that day. Obviously there is always something going on, but you can sort of see the press core in front of the house. I tried to zoom in as much as possible. We never got a chance to watch the news to find out exactly what the fuss was about that day.

More pictures to come.

Virginia

2010-10-06T07:36:00.001-07:00

In Virginia we stayed in a condo at a four seasons resort. They were definitely a family-friendly resort with lots of activities for people. We didn't utilize any of them and spent a lot of time driving around the area. We went to wineries, we went antiquing in cute little towns like Strassburg. We spent a day at Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. THAT was absolutely amazing. The views throughout were amazing. We truly learned where the line, "purple majesties" came from while looking around this amazing part of the country.

We really just "chilled" in Virginia. One day we didn't leave the condo till 3 pm. At first I felt guilty. I thought, "we should be out there seeing everything there is to see." And Jason patiently said, "when was the last time we got to just chill out and not do anything." Well, I'd have to say it was the two days after our wedding in Fredricksburg. So I got over it and just enjoyed relaxing. These pictures are just a small sampling of the amazing views we had as we drove around.

We're BaaAack!

2010-09-16T19:41:00.001-07:00

Jason and I have returned from an eleven-day belated honeymoon. We went to McGayhesville, VA and Washington D.C. Neither of us had been to either location and it all came about very suddenly in June. Jason was chosen to attend a technology conference in D.C. He emailed me about it and I suggested we try to make it our honeymoon. My parents had a week at a time-share of choice on hold for us as their wedding gift. So, after some phone-calling and waiting, Virginia was the locale for a week at a resort and D.C. was the locale for part of the following week.

It was AMAZING! The resort is located in the Southern end of the Shenandoah Valley. Gorgeous views at every turn and the trees were just beginning to show some yellow and even some vibrant reds here and there. We ran, hiked, toured vineyards, and just chilled in a condo. There will be more details and pictures later.

D.C. was a whirlwind. I don't believe I've walked that much in years--probably since I toured London and Paris in 1999. I fell in LOVE with D.C. There is just too much to do and see and I just wanted to absorb it all. Again, more pictures and stories will come in the next week. There is editing and sorting to do as I prepare for making our Storybook.

For now, one of my favorite shots.

Creative Memories Digital Sale

2010-09-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled we are offering a fantastic savings on our most popular Creative Memories digital products beginning Sept. 8 through Sept. 21st! I have two 12x12 Storybooks waiting to be ordered! And with 30% off of our digital downloads, some new content will undoubtedly make it's way into my computer.

I love the quality of our stitched binding and the quality of the pages. Our products have undergone extensive testing and scientists have stated our Storybooks will look the same 100 years from now. How awesome to know we can leave our grandchildren and great-grandchildren such a legacy!

Visit wwww.mycmsite.com/karijohnson for more information.

One, Two, One, Two

2010-09-02T16:51:00.000-07:00

Since February I have been participating in a wonderful bookclub with some wives from base. We call oursleves the Biloxi Book Babes! It has been a blast. First, they are a wonderful set of ladies with varying backgrounds. Some of the ladies are moms, none of us are working in the career fields we would like, except for the moms, they are doing what they want to right now--which is great! We all love to read of course. We've read a variety of things and what I've loved is that is has brought intention back to my reading. It used to take me months to finish a 300 page book. Partly because I rarely had time to read, and partly because I didn't choose to do it as often.

September's book of choice is "Addition" by Toni Jordan. I absolutely loved it! The protagonist, Grace, suffers from an obsessive-comulsive disorder--counting. She has to count everything or her world is so off-kilter she cannot function. Grace is witty, attractive, and bound to her small world. Until she meets a man. Her world becomes off-kilter, but she able to find her way back without losing herself. I don't want to spoil the book for anyone, so I won't describe it further.

I related to Grace. She's a single gal and when she meets this young man, she goes through all the thoughts and feelings that I went through when I was single. It brough back hilarious memories of conversations with Bethany, Marissa and so many other poor souls who had to listen to me.

I also relate to Grace when it comes to numbers. I don't love numbers as Grace does, but I do have some quirks when it comes to numbers. I eat everything in pairs so I can eat evenly in my mouth, one on each side. My friends find this hilarious. To a certain extent it's a choice, but if I don't, it does bother me a bit. But it doesn't hinder my living. I also prefer things in increments of five, especially when it comes to career lifespan. It bothers me enormously that I had to quit teaching after eight years and didn't make it to ten before leaving. I tend to bounce my foot in a figure eight when I have to sit for a great length of time. Not too many people know that. I've done it since junior high.

So there you have it. More insight into my life and a recommendation for a good read. I read it in less than a week. I hope Toni Jordan comes out with another novel soon.

**I should warn you, there are some sexual scenes that some may not want to read. It's not gratuitious and doesn't overshadow the main themes of the book, but I wanted to forewarn anyone who might not want that in their literature at all.

Training: Week 4

2010-08-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

Monday: 60 min. run
Tuesday: 60 min. cross-training
Wednesday: 45 min. run/Yoga
Thursday: 45 run/strength training
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 6 miles

This came in yesterday...

2010-08-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

For all those interested, it was about 100 degrees yesterday with a heat index of 105. But yeah, let's start putting out scraves! Blah!

De-clutter Me

2010-08-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

Will I ever be clutter free? It seems as soon as I clear off the spare bed or the counter top something new appears within seconds!

I love the idea of being clutter-free. I love being organized. I love organizational tools. I just can't ever seem to sustain being organized and clutter-free!

It seems I've been on the quest to de-clutter for the last year. Moving will do that to a person. I had a LOT of stuff. Jason went minimalist after his divorce, so he had far less stuff. He's also not as nostalgic about some things as I am. For example, Jason has one stuffed animal from his childhood. I have a Rubbermaid 70gallon tub. Now, in my defense, I had two tubs and have reduced it to 1 and I want to put them on display in my child's room someday, so there's a reason to keep them.

Most areas of the house are always clutter-free. I hate clutter in the bathroom, so it's always clean. I hate clothes on the floor, so our clothes are always in the hamper or put away. Most of the time the kitchen counter is clean, but I also hate doing the dishes, so sometimes there are a few stray dishes in the sink or on the counter while the dishwasher is full.

My office is really the hardest place to keep de-cluttered. There are several reasons. It's a good catch-all for items that don't have homes yet. Scrapbooking stuff comes and in and out of it's home frequently, but sometimes it takes some time to get it back home.

But I also blame my mother (whom I love DEARLY). Mom is OCD about many things when it comes to her house. It's spotless, truly, it is. But mom is a "piler" when it comes to office paperwork-type things. Dad is pretty neat about stuff too, but he's usually got a variety of piles going in his office too.

So. there you have it. It's genetic. :)

This post all stems from finding two blogs today regarding organization. The first is this and from there I found this one. Both inspired me to tackle my office...AGAIN. It was clean when we got back from NYG and dropping the boys off in San Antonio. But somehow the bed had piles again. Most of them are gone. Pictures that needed to be scanned are scanned. The few remaining items are:
1.NYG cross to be hung
2. 2 beach pictures of boys to be hung
3. Creative Memories files that I need to go through to put my Memory Keepers club together.
4. 2 books I'm going to trade in for a different book at a used bookstore.
5. Some scrapbooking papers I'm going to send to my cousin.

So, everything has a reason to be out, I just have to get those tasks accomplished. Now, back to the tasks...or reading "Eat, Pray, Love." I must finish it by Saturday for book club. Yea!

San Antonio Rock 'n' roll Training Commences

2010-08-16T07:19:00.000-07:00

Jason and I haven't trained for anything...ANYTHING, not even a 5K in two years. The need for some consistency in our exercise routine has meant finding and committing to a race in which to train. The San Antonio half-marathon holds a special place in my heart--it was my first half-marathon five years ago. Yes, FIVE years ago...I can't believe it's been that long already. It was also Jason's first endurance event in 2008.

So, we're in week three of officially training. We did six miles last weekend--it was the WORST six miles I've ever run in my life. But we did it and we did it again this past weekend and it was much better. (I was dreading it and Jason had to pump me up. Which is a role reversal for us.) The difficult thing about training for endurance events in the South is not only the heat, but the excruciating humidity found when also living by a large body of water. We'll persevere and drink lots of Gatorade! It's nice to be back into a routine!

Training Schedule this week:
Sunday: Six miles
Monday: Rest and Stretch
Tuesday: 60 min./Stretch
Wednesday: 60 min cross train/stretch
Thursday: 45 min/stretch
Friday: 45 min./stretch

Gotta love it!

We Believe

2010-08-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

The Exhibitor Hall
Mass Event
Family pic with my cousin Courtney.
I can't believe she's old enough to be at the Gathering!
Last Mass Event
The Gathering was amazing. From a multiple-participant/observer perspective, I think it's my favorite so far. The mass events just seemed really tightly put together with a great flow in terms of speakers and music.

From the beginning I was a bit emotional. There is always a staff worship service the evening before everything begins and I was overcome with emotion after singing hymns and worship songs with more than fifty people. (We're NOT in Lutheran-land here)

Jason came the first day without the boys and got to see everything as it began, so then he knew where to bring them first, etc. They had a BLAST! They loved the exhibitor hall with all of their activities, but their favorite was Hall D--the experiential hall. I think they spent a day-and-half there. The mass events were another highlight for them as well. Ian probably got more out of them at this point than Donovan did, just due to their ages, but it was a good experience for both of them.

I was sad to leave it all. My love of ministry was reawakened. Partly from being around so many ministry-minded people, and then seeing former students, classmates, and colleagues. It really hit home how starved I am for ministry in my life again.

Till I can officially work in that capacity again, I must remember that truly, everything I do is ministry.

River of Light to We Believe

2010-07-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

I'm finally excited! "We Believe" the LCMS National Youth Gathering is here! It's not that I haven't been excited, but I've finally gotten through family visits and finding people to cover work shifts, so I can actually BE excited and not just anxious about getting everything in order to leave.

I love the Gathering. The '95 "River of Light" Gathering was my Gathering as a participant and it was the mountain-top experience of my high school career. Nothing else compares to being with 25,000+ people worshiping and learning together. It was at the Gathering that I realized two things.

1. I wasn't just going into teaching, I was going into Ministry. (At the time I was an upcoming senior and had decided to attend Concordia in Seward, NE)
2. Everything I do is Ministry.

There wasn't one particular Bible study or mass event that lead me to these discoveries. It was the entire event...from Bible study to mass event to experientials and games. It was all an incredible experience.

I pray the youth participating in this Gathering have the same experience. I'm excited one of my youngest cousins will be one of them. I pray the planners are please with their three years of work. I pray our Synod continues to support such an incredible effort that touches of the lives of so many of our future leader.

WE BELIEVE!

June Wrap-Up

2010-07-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

The end of June was kinda crazy. July is even crazier! There was Father's Day in Baton Rouge with Jason's family. Then there was the quick trip to Lufkin, TX to visit Jason's aunt and uncle and buy a truck from them. Because, you know, when you inherit a boat, you must have something to tow it (rolling eyes). Jason officially has a more expensive hobby than me!

Anyways, the trip to Texas was great. His aunt and uncle live on about 8 acres, which back up to a lake. The boys had a blast fishing, swimming and riding on four-wheelers. I cracked up at all the pictures it took to get them to stand still for one decent picture. I thought I'd share.

IT'S GOING TOO FAST!

2010-06-29T05:43:00.000-07:00

Have been a blur! The boys each spent half a week with their MawMaw and PawPaw Johnson in Baton Rouge. It was nice for them to have some time away from each other and one-on-one time with us--especially Jason. When we had just Ian, we went to the library twice, made peanut-butter playdough sculptures--then proceeded to eat them, and went to the Jefferson Davis House. Donovan's time was a little shorter, but we did make some goo and swam. He got to go to a movie with just his dad and eat at our favorite Greek restaurant.

We also finally got the boat Jason's PawPaw gave us up and running. We spent an awesome Monday on the water and came back with just a little red. :) I can't believe I'm a boat-person now!

Bless the Fleet

2010-06-09T06:09:00.000-07:00

The 81st Annual Blessing of the Fleet Festival was this past weekend. I forget that I truly live in a small town because it feels so expansive with the water right next to it. Or maybe it's because we're really living where several small towns are clustered together now and run right into each other. Either way, the festival was not as large as I expected, but there were fun activities for the kids and good shrimp to be eaten. (I've also been to numerous gatherings and festivals in the small town of Atkins, IA and Cedar Rapids, IA and they seem much larger than here...maybe the casinos throw me off.)

Enjoy some pics. It was hot and muggy, you'll see it on the boys' faces. We ended the trip at Ben and Jerry's...located in the Hard Rock Casino. It's a different world here.

Summer Lists

2010-06-04T13:28:00.001-07:00

My CM upline has encouraged us to make summer lists to help us to continue working our business throughout trips to zoos, museums, pools, beaches and whatever else occurs. I decided to have the boys make lists too, which also helps me know what they'd actually like to do this summer.

Donovan's list is complicated:

Go to Sicily's (pizza buffet)
Go to a waterpark
Go to a museum
Do a science experiement
Paint
Watch G-force
Make cookies (pb cookies)
Go to the beach

I think we can handle it!

Wedded Bliss

2010-04-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

Well I wouldn't say the whole year was blissful, but is has been wonderful and amazing and I'm excited to see how the next 89 turn out! ;-) Jason has been TAUNTING me for WEEKS about Saturday. He wouldn't tell me anything that he had planned. Not what to wear, where we were going...nothing. Saturday morning he said he'd tell me after I showered...then he changed it to after he showered. Grrr. But I loved the suspense, I can't lie.

We drove along 90 till we got to this ticket center for Boomtown casino...he went and parked behind it. We're not gamblers, so I was puzzled. Insert my face here...

We walked over to a lovely older community and to a house...where the door looked like this...

If you can't read the door, it's the "Randy Barras Salon and Spa"...an Aveda salon and spa! Ahhh! Yeah! I got a facial, mani, pedi, cut and COLOR! Hmmm...I have warm highlights to welcome the summer. Then he took me to get my make-up done!

From there we got ready for dinner at our favorite restaurant, Kenny Ward's in downtown Ocean Springs. Marvelous steak and grouper, along with outstanding martinis.

Jason spoiled me rotten and I enjoyed every minute of it. So much has happened this year, but we've settled into a great "calm" that I love. He's pretty awesome and I am so blessed the Lord brought us together!

Cake 101

2010-04-21T13:52:00.001-07:00

Jason and I are taking cake-decorating classes. In six weeks we will be able to do this with our skills!

This was my Valentine's present to Jason. He'd just made a birthday cake for me and took such pride in his work, I thought this would be perfect for him and for us to do together. He is the only male in the class, but that just makes him endearing to all of the other ladies. It seems like a riotous group.

Our homework this week is to make frosting--the key is the consistency. And fold different sized parchment "tubes."

Weddings and Babies

2010-04-12T21:52:00.000-07:00

Weddings used to ALWAYS take me away from San Antonio, and now they seem to be bringing me back. A dear friend from Team 'N' Training got married this past weekend to a former Team 'N' Training coordinator. We've all seen Shawn go through some pretty tough times in the past two years, so it was wonderful to see things come full circle this weekend. Jennifer was a beautiful bride. I'll share more pics later this week when I'm finished editing them.

They were married in Burnet, TX, which is north of Austin off of Highway 281. The bluebonnets were in full bloom and we couldn't resist stopping for a pic or four. They were amazing.

Then, to top off the weekend, Erin and Brian West were blessed with the birth of their second daughter, Adriana Faith. We saw them on Thursday, her due date, and all was normal with no contractions or anything. Friday morning Adriana arrived and on Sunday we stopped for twenty minutes to meet this little blessing. Erin looked so at peace.

It was good to be home. I relished worshipping at CoL again. Sundays are still a difficult day for me here. Someday, someday. We did see the boys too and I have some editing to do on their pics as well.

More to come.

Perfect and Complete

2010-04-05T04:05:00.000-07:00

A young boy who has struggled with cancer most of his life met his Eternal Father yesterday as we celebrated Christ's resurrection. My heart is hurting for Kristen, her husband, and daughter, but I'm celebrating that Per is no longer in pain. Please keep the Thompson's in your prayers.

I didn't get to sing any Easter hymns in church yesterday due to a drama, but I have had "I know that my Redeemer lives" running through my head since last night.

Hold your children tight tonight.

Grand Opening

2010-03-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

Kohl's has finally opened to the public and they have flocked to the store. Great. Glad the business is going well. I'm glad we're finally able to move merchandise out of the store and move overstock onto the floor. I get a sick sense of pleasure out of organizing racks of clothes in style and color order, I really do.

But I did have to wonder, after helping the third, darling, little old lady find a bra, if this what I should be doing after working for five years to complete my Masters. Probably not. I should probably be working with kids.

But here's the deal. I don't want to teach in a classroom on a regular basis. (Yikes, I've thought it and written it now!) An art position at a public high school has opened up. However, they're under a hiring freeze right now, so it may or may not be filled. The district is also trying to cut 8 million out of it's budget. Double-yikes! To be honest, I haven't met too many positive high school teachers in the area, which makes me wonder if I want to put myself in that environment, especially if we're only here under two more years. Probably not. The Biloxi school district is cutting their staff, which means other districts will be inundated with applicants--many of them with stronger ties to the community. And it is about who you know. Believe me, it's a small community.

But do I really want to do retail for two more years? I've been on the closing team all week. Since it's grand opening week, we're open till 11. Blah! I don't mind closing, but I do mind working with people who do nothing but complain about staying late. I get it, we stayed an hour past our scheduled time grand opening day because there was just so much to do. That's not fun--for anyone. No one wants to stay, but can we really leave the store trashed? No. Last night wasn't as bad. I got home just a little after midnight. That's only about a half-hour after our scheduled time.

There are leadership opportunities available right now in two areas. I've applied for one, and I've been asked to consider the other. We'll see. I don't want Kohl's to take me away from my Creative Memories business either. The Lord has blessed my business down here and I want that to be a priority.

So many things to consider. Lots to pray over.

"It's just nice being a family."

2010-03-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

The title is a quote from Jason this morning after we enjoyed a lazy Saturday with the boys. Actually, it wasn't that lazy--laundry and bathrooms were cleaned, but without deadlines, which made it feel lazy.

This has been the best visit so far with the boys. We haven't tried to cram it in with 801 activities and visits with extended family. Jason picked up the boys last weekend and went straight to Baton Rouge. I stayed back due to my schedule at Kohls. Jason's boss was wonderful about helping Jason arrange his schedule so he could be home with the boys during the days that I had to work. Which, while might have been a pain, was a huge blessing in that Jason got to spend much more time with them then he has during previous visits.

I also think we're more settled, which helps them feel more settled. We've gone to the beach, the boys adopted a Hermit crab, bought Mario Kart and WHEELS (really very cool), and we've played lots of board games. It's been a great week, I can't say it enough.

I'm going to feel melancholy when they leave, but we just have 2 1/2 months till they visit for six weeks! And we have a short visit to SA planned for a wedding (what else?) to break up the time.

Currently the boys have just finished running around outside, Jason's grilling hot dogs and turkey dogs and we have frozen yogurt churning. Could life be any better?

Visitors to the Coast

2010-03-16T05:55:00.001-07:00

Mikaela and JD are two of my former students, now currently Bulldogs in Nebraska. :) They are here for a servant event and I enjoyed a quick catch-up with them Sunday evening. They have always made me laugh and did not fail that evening. The sign behind us makes me laugh.

February Spring

2010-03-16T05:46:00.000-07:00

If you have some spare change, this property is a STEAL! ;-)

The end of February brought amazing weather after much rain soaked the ground. Ocean Springs is right off the coast and has a great new "boardwalk" that is almost complete. It's complete enough we enjoyed a Sunday walk and saw these sights. I do love living near water. I was spoiled when we lived in Minneapolis and enjoyed the lakes all summer long, so it's nice to be back near a beach. Jason and the boys love the fishing. I'm learning to love the fishing.

That same evening we enjoyed our first patio meal of the season. It was a little chilly in the evening, but we kept the chimney going and felt great. These are the moments I'm going to treasure.

Ultra-personal self-disclosure here...

2010-03-12T08:27:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure the only people that read this blog on a regular basis are the people and I call and share trials, tribulations, and celebrations with anyways, so I'm gonna put this out there...

I am so excited because I was able to make an extra payment towards a closed credit card account today! Why am I celebrating. Two reasons...

1. I'm actually making money to contribute to the family income!

2. I'm following Dave Ramsey's 2nd step to financial freedom.

To be financially free someday will be AMAZING! I have never been good with money. NEVER! Mom will tell you that it used to just burn in my pocket till I could spend it. As an adult, I did a very poor job of managing it. It became worse during the year I suffered from depression and didn't realize it. I was so overwhelmed with life that I just didn't even try to pay attention to what I was doing. Plus I was trying to keep up with "the Jones'" by going out to eat, shopping, and traveling when really, they made much more than me because they were not Lutheran school teachers. Let's be honest, it's not a profession that keeps you rolling in dough. But it doesn't have to put you under either, if you manage yourself. I didn't, and I'm still paying for it. But, as long as I can keep working and putting that money towards the debt first(after tithing) and not a latte, we could move from MS financially free of debt! This is one of my top five prayers!

Life Sans Cable

2010-02-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

We bit the bullet at the beginning of the month and decided to cancel cable. It's ridiculously expensive here and we don't have a lot of options. We figured we get a few local stations and that would suffice. What we didn't realize is that even with the antenna, we'd really only get one local station because the other two stations are out of New Orleans and Mobile, so we can't pull them in. :( My one consolation is that the local station we do get is an ABC affiliate so I can see GMA in the mornings when I have time and a few other shows, such as Castle!

So what do we do instead of staying glued to our television? Netflix! I'm finally getting caught up on all those movies I should have, and wanted, to see in the last few years. We're enjoying the two movies we get, plus the "instant play" option from the Internet.

I'd like to see us both doing more reading and such, but I think we were so enamoured with getting the movies that we focused on that for awhile. Reading and games will come, I believe, in time.

That's my random update for the day!

Valentine's Day @ Mardi Gras

2010-02-16T07:19:00.001-08:00

Our Valentine's Day was trumped for Mardi Gras parades! Actually, an orientation at Kohl's in the morning (I know, I hate that it was Sunday morning as well) was the first order of business. THEN we headed to NOLA to meet the Johnson sisters, dear college friends, for some Mardi Gras fun! This was my first Mardi Gras experience. Next year we'll plan for a whole day.

The theme for the Bacchus parade was love, so each float represented the theme. Some of my favs included the "I Love Lucy" float and "Love Shack" float. It was a great night, although we didn't do any of the partying that many around us had been doing, and would be doing well into the night. The parade ended at 9:30 and we were home by 11:30. Enjoy the pics!

Returning to the world of employment

2010-02-07T18:53:00.000-08:00

Yea! I officially have a part-time gig at the soon-to-be opened Kohl's! I'll be working in jewelry and intimates. Officially I was asked about merchandising. I assume this means I'll be stocking and keeping things orderly while working with customers. Orientation is in a week!

In the meantime, I had three Creative Memories events this past weekend. One was a fourteen hour crop on Saturday. I lasted ten hours. I'm just not as hardcore as the other ladies...yet. :) It was a great time and I'm getting to know more and more people, which I LOVE!

The Gulf Coast is beginning to feel like home.

Two Books to Add to My Reading List...

2010-02-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

I'm adding two books to this year's reading list. One is by this blogging couple. I linked their food index list and not their home page because right now there is a sultry picture of Alicia Silverstone and I didn't want you to be shocked and not read more about them. They spent a month eating for only a $1 a day and blogged about it. Now they have a book coming out as well. Reading more into has me very curious, as does Jason.

The other is Alicia Silverstone's new book, "The Kind Diet." I've always admired Alicia for not falling into the media traps that other celebrities her age have not avoided. And I'm always up for new recipes!

Have a good one!

Lists

2010-02-03T13:03:00.000-08:00

I love lists. I function better with lists, deadlines, and friends who remind of things I forgot to write down. :) Anyways, I made a list of all of the books I read in 2009. Shameful. It seems I'm no longer a bookworm, but a former bookworm. Grad school and wedding planning can have that affect. Most of the books I read last year were read in the latter part of the year. Which means 2010 should be a banner year for reading. So far I've already got two finished and I'm almost half-way through Sense and Sensibility. I love it. I knew I'd love Jane Austen once I began reading her works, and I was correct. I'm challenging myself to read more this year. I haven't given myself a number to aspire to or anything like that. I know me, and that'll weigh on me and reading will become a chore, not a pleasure.

Another note on lists, to prove how much I have always loved them. As a child, I would keep an extensive list of the books I had read, when I began them and when I ended them. You see, I have always been competitive too and I wanted to see how fast I was reading through the books. In the end that took pleasure out of the reading as well.

Happy reading to all!

Shorts and a T-shirt

2010-02-02T12:51:00.000-08:00

Yep! That's what I wore while running this morning...well, early afternoon. It's 65 here right now. It was 30-something the other night and it's supposed to cool down again and get rainy. But for today, I enjoyed a fabulous run! Just had to brag!

"Now What"?

2010-01-28T08:19:00.001-08:00

I have NOT been looking forward to this birthday. I couldn't really pinpoint why until I was at the NYG meeting. As usual, spending time with old friends brings clarity. I realized that in the year of "31" two HUGE dreams came true. I finished my Masters and I got married. One I'd been working towards for years and the other I had been hoping would happen for many years.

So the question is, "Now what"? Now that I've accomplished both those things, what do I do? What's the next big goal? Children? In a couple of years. (Although the NUMEROUS number of newborns and soon-to-be-born little ones at the NYG meeting did start a little baby fever, but I'm taking advil and ignoring it).

Get a job? Yeah, that needs to happen and I'm working on the resume and counseling certificates that I need to apply for positions next year. I have been quite sheltered in my Lutheran world when it comes to finding a job outside of it. And since I'm not in the land of Lutherans, it makes it all the more difficult for me.

Creative Memories is going well and I would love to become a unit leader in then next year, but I have to learn how to recruit, so we'll see. It is one goal. I just have to learn how to earn it. Without a business backgroud, it's more of a challenge. Which is good for me. I do better with challenges.

I also do better with structure. I don't have a lot of structure this week, so I'm feeling as though I've been quite lazy. I'll get over it. And really, I need to remember to enjoy this time because I'll never have it again. Most likely the next time I don't have a job, I will have little ones that require my attention. So, therefore, I need to just enjoy this gift of time. That's hard for me.

More Good Friends and Good Times

2010-01-28T08:13:00.001-08:00

Shortly after returning from Memphis, I headed to New Orleans, LA for the January '10NYG meeting. Erin is my co-manager and got to attend this meeting, which was a double-bonus for me.

It was overwhelming at first to be surrounded by people, Lutherans no less, and so many whom I just adore spending time with, but rarely get to do so. It was a productive meeting from my standpoint and I'm excited to see all of the plans come to fruition in July! And the backpacks ROCK! :)

The funniest story for me was when I saw my mom's former CPH boss, Joe, in the lobby when I first arrived. Poor guy, he hadn't heard about any of the family changes in the last year. So I proceeded to blow his mind when I told him I'm married, Kelly's married and mom and dad live in South Dakota now. He had actually heard that, but none of the rest. His face was priceless!

Ah, good times again!

Good Friends, Good Times

2010-01-28T08:02:00.001-08:00

Dirty 30-II landed in Memphis earlier this month. Originally we were headed back to our St. Louis roots, but Sara is going to be moving to Memphis later this year and so we decided check out the city. It is amazingly similar to St. Louis. As I drove in on 55 and 240, I eerily felt as though I was on 44 going into the city. Which is a bonus in that it's familiar, but a bummer because Sara and her Naval husband, James, wanted a different area of the country for his last few years in the service. Oh well, she'll be closer to me, which is a bonus for all.

We enjoyed BBQ, martinis, and Beale Street (not in that order). We found some darling neighborhoods for Sara and James to investigate further when they know their exact move date. And we just enjoyed being together, as always.

Love these ladies!

Little Things That Make Me Happy

2010-01-15T10:42:00.000-08:00

It's the little things that make me happy. Such as all of my traditional albums imprinted with the year and a phrase that represents the way I felt about that year. What are they?

2005*Hitting My Stride In Five--that fifth year of teaching just seemed to make everything click. It was the year I finally had my weight down to where I wanted it and I ran my first half-marathon. It was also the year I designed a "Mark" for the 2005 Texas Ministry Conference--it was green, which makes the green of my album for that year more than appropriate.

2006*Taking The Road Less Traveled--I flew somewhere EVERY month that year. Amazing for a Lutheran School teacher.

2007*The Journey Begins--fantastic year of growth, self-discovery and FUN!

2008*Enjoying The Journey--another amazing year, where I now see how the Lord was preparing me to meet Jason in the middle of that year.

The other album that brings me great joy is my wedding album. It arrived Dec. 23rd and I LOVE it. I designed it and seeing it printed and bound brings a wonderful smile to my face.

It's the little things...

New Year's Eve

2010-01-14T10:32:00.001-08:00

Before Jason enjoyed his day in the hospital, we all had a grande time ringing in the New Year. I made chicken noodle soup and bread and then we roasted marshmellows on the grill outside. My plan was JUST to roast marshmellows, but wouldn't you know the boys would talk their Dad into getting graham crackers and chocolate for S'mores! They were awesome though, I have to admit, I love a good s'more!

This new decade caused me to pause and remember some of my previous New Year's Eves. Many of them were spent with good friends playing games and eating good food. Sometimes they involved road trips for either me or some of them. It made me realize just how blessed I am with such amazing long-time friends.

I Saw God's Hand

2010-01-05T17:10:00.000-08:00

I saw God's hand yesterday.
I saw God's hand as the EMT's helped my husband onto a stretcher.
I saw God's hand as the boys got themselves ready to leave in minutes.
I saw God's hand as I was greeted by the caring and friendly women in the registration office.
I saw God's hand as the chaplain came and spoke with us for a little bit.
I saw God's hand as the nurses and Doctor's checked on and medicated my husband with a painful kidney stone.
I saw God's hand as we took Jason home and he slept and rested.
I saw God's hand as the boys played, and didn't argue while I finished their laundry for the their journey home.
I saw God's hand as the evening ended with the boys working together to clean and organize their room before sleeping.
I saw God's hand as Jason was able to sit up a bit and play a game of Trouble with the boys on their last evening with us.
I felt God's hand as I ended the day with one boy sleeping in my lap and the other sleeping by my side as a movie played.

Jason says I was truly a Mom that day.
I FELT like a Mom that day. But only because I felt God's hand that day.

Iowa Winter

2009-12-31T09:58:00.001-08:00

New Traditions

2009-12-17T18:18:00.001-08:00

Some dear friends sent us a beautiful project to assemble. The Chrismons were desiged by Paul Berkbigler, and printed with help from his wife Cory and some former Concordia classmates. They are a wonderful reminder of the true meaning of CHRISTmas.

Open House and an Anniversary

2009-12-12T19:30:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday was a BUSY day. I held my annual Creative Memories Christmas open house. I was so pleased with the turnout. I had put together 12 gift bags for all attendees and I only had ONE left over! I am so thrilled with this since I've only been here since August.

After the open house concluded, Jason surprised me with a special evening out to celebrate the anniversary of our engagement. It began at a wonderful restaurant in Biloxi called Mary Mahoney's. Mary Mahoney's has been around for over 40 years, surviving two hurricane's and serving some of the BEST food I have ever tasted. (They have markers for where the water line was from the hurricanes and both were WELL above my head. It's astonishing!)

Anyways, after eating we walked down to the Biloxi town green to look at the light dislplay. I loved the dolphins pulling Santa's sleigh! That evening was also the annual boat parade. Boats were lined up all along the harbor decorated with lights! It is something so unique to living on the coast and I'm happy we got a small glimpse of it. Enjoy the pics!

Christmas Decorating Early

2009-12-10T07:13:00.001-08:00

We broke my rule and put the tree up before Thanksgiving. But we had the boys, so we wanted to be sure to include them in the fun. Ian was very excited about it. Donovan, not as much--but he did put up ornaments when we got to that point. Afterwards we watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Love that show!

Thanksgiving Fun

2009-12-10T06:39:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving was fast and furious. I brought the boys back with me from my SA wedding weekend. It really takes a couple of days to adjust to being back together, but we managed to have fun even with that adjustment and my being exhausted from the 10 hour drive. (Yep, 10 hours in the car, just me and the boys. They were great. Got antsy, but who wouldn't?)

We had some fun at a playground. Then it wouldn't be us without a major project. Painting the boys' room. Jason had this idea, I did not. He wanted the boys to be able to help with it. Great in theory, but it was too huge of a project for them to help with the whole thing. Attention spans were limited. But the final outcome was/is fantastic!

Ian's 10th birthday fell on Tuesday of that week. I made cupcakes, we sang and ate pizza. Fun times for all!

More Home Improvements

2009-12-03T06:34:00.001-08:00

The weekend before leaving for SA was spent finally painting the living room and bedroom. I was dreading the mess, but I got the bedroom wall painted on a Friday. Saturday morning Jason and I started the process. He tapes and I roll. While I finished rolling one wall, he was busy moving the furniture around (we flipped the room). It only took about 3 hours to get it all finished! I was amazed and love them both. Patience paid off--I have a green room! We still have some items to hang, but overall, things are in place. Yea!

SA Wedding

2009-12-03T06:18:00.000-08:00

There is nothing like being with people you know and love. My trip back to SA was brief, but jam-packed with fun. Lunch with great friends, shopping with great friends, rehearsal dinner and wedding festivities celebrated with great friends! I could go into great detail, but I'm not in the mood. But the trip started with some time in Houston with my mom. Happily Erin and Micaiah were able to come by for a morning of blowing bubbles and chit-chat. Micaiah is getting so big and amazed me with all the words she knew. She immediately saw the bubbles and never forgot them till we finally went outside and blew them. She had done that at mom's house several weeks ago and loved it then too!

I will also tell you that the couple happily married, Blake and Lydia, met through me. It wasn't my intention to hook them up, I just thought Lydia was cool and should join our Bible study. Blake wisely took it from there. The other random fact regarding this couple, Blake is one of my former students--from the class of 2004. It was marvelous to see so many of his classmates at the wedding. They were a riotous class, but I loved them! Enjoy the pics!
BUBBLES!!

Class of 2004
Blake and Lydia

Peter Anderson Festival

2009-11-10T06:52:00.001-08:00

This weekend was the acclaimed Peter Anderson festival. Peter and his brother, Walter, were regionally well-known artists from Ocean Springs. The festival brings in hundreds of artists for the weekend. There's a art show and contest and LOTS of food and people. Over 100,000 came through our tiny town in two days! It was fun to walk the streets looking at all the creativity. We didn't find anything that needed a home with us, but maybe next year. Here are some fun shots.

The Explorers!

Booths and people EVERYWHERE!

Live music all day long.

Halloween of Yesteryear

2009-10-31T07:32:00.001-07:00

I'm working on Christmas presents and one of them is a calendar for some family members. I'm pretty certain the ones in question never read my blog, so I'm safe in posting this one pic. Mom was very creative in using available resources for various costumes. I was the witch multiple years in a row and mom made that one. The other costumes were borrowed from friends or came from our own wardrobes. I don't recall ever shopping for costumes or anything like that. Isn't Kelly the cutest little puppy???

Incidently, the calendar is a free template from Creative Memories. You can download it for free and just drag 'n' drop your pictures into the spaces. They give you three different template options for each month. You can insert text into the image area and then also onto the calendar. All possible family birthdays will be included in this gift! You can download the template from my website. Once you're finished you can upload it to the Creative Memories Digital website and order yours. Shamelessly I will tell you that calendars will be 20% for orders of 2 or more from Nov. 1 through the 15th. Just in case you need some quick Christmas ideas!

Halloween Nostalgia

2009-10-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

This week has me reminiscing of last year when we took the boys pumpkin picking, carved and painted them at my house, then we went trick-or-treating with them. It was a special time. We miss the boys more than I can express. We haven't seen them in three months and we have roughly a month to go before we'll see them again. Pray for patience for both us, and them. Here are some pictures of the pumpkin patch and trick-or-treating.

Fun Times!

2009-10-21T12:16:00.001-07:00

So after that melancholy moment I shared with all of cyber-world, I had a fantastic weekend. Jason and I went walking around an awesome residential area near the Ocean Springs Harbor and ended the evening eating at their Bar and Grill. I had some of the best gumbo I've had so far and a fantastic crabcake sandwich. The evening was brisk. The air was clear. It was just divine. It was one of those "nothing" nights that just makes you happy. You know?

The next morning we participated in a benefit walk for a little girl named Sohia. Her parents own a place called the "TatoNut shop" in downtown Ocean Springs. The tato nuts are wonderful and can be identified as a type of doughnut, if you're wondering. Anyways, Sophia has brain cancer and is receiving treatment in Texas. This has meant closing the shop to be with her. You can imagine what kind of financial strain that can bring to a family. The benefit walk seemed like a huge success. We didn't really know anyone, so we walked the bridge and then went home. But it still felt good to be out with the community. From the bridge we saw these amazing views.

After the walk I double-timed it to be ready to join a group called "Craftyscrappers." They held an all-day benefit crop. If you don't know what a crop is, it's when people bring in all of the scrapbooking or crafting supplies and work for as long as time permits. In this case, 8 hours. I last about 7 hours, but met lots of people and got a party booked out of it. Fabulous! Great ladies. The benefit was for the organizer's granddaughter. She's on a dance team and they are raising money to go to Disney World for a competition. The little girl was a sweetie and I happily helped the cause!

Sunday was church and then I did a "Digital and Dessert" event for a group of ladies. It was a fabulous time as well. I made this and it was awesome!

Happy Fall Y'all!

2009-10-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

I'M WEARING A SWEATSHIRT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so excited it's dropping below 60 tonight! I'm going to an all-day crop tomorrow and I have a CM digital event on Sunday! Life is looking much better than it did two or three days ago. It really does come in waves.

Thank you to all who commented, called and texted! I'm so thankful for friends around the world!

Blessings y'all! (You know, 10 years ago I swore I'd never say that and now it's natural!)

Ramblings

2009-10-14T13:19:00.000-07:00

I have not been in the mood to write. I'd love to say it's because I've been too busy, but that was in another life. Life is Biloxi is very different than in SA. It's not bad, it's just different. The kind of different I'm fine with for awhile, but then I'm hit by something that rocks me into homesickness. Sometimes it lasts for an hour, a day, or longer. I'm on a week-long kick right now. I wish I could pinpoint why, but I can't. It may be checking up on friends via their blogs or Facebook and realzing what I'm missing--who am I kidding, I KNOW that's what it is. But I don't want to not check because then I'd get too out-of-the-loop and that hurts worse.

Getting into the subbing system has proven more difficult than I anticipated, so I haven't begun working in any schools as of yet. My Creative Memories business is picking up quite steadily though, so I'm excited about that! Really, it feels like the Lord is blessing that venture in so many ways, so I can't complain.

I wish I knew more people. I long for a group to meet up with on a Friday evening to have margaritas or wine with, but we're just not there yet. This past Friday we went to the new mall they've opened up...it has TARGET!!!! Unfortunately that's the most exciting thing in South Mississippi right now. But at least civilization hit!

So what do I do with my time? I run, I go to yoga and pilates classes on base, I've joined the Spouses' club--which is recent, so not a lot of connections yet--I scrapbook, I cook and bake. I hang out with Jason. That's it. No running from this, to this, to this. Which, as many of you know, is VERY different from my life in SA. Although, in looking back, that type of lifestyle built up after a few years of living there and really kicked into gear in 2005, so it wasn't always that way.

Again, it's just different. We're still looking for a church. We are NOT in Lutheran Land, so the churches are very small and generally "gray."

I know I'm just in a "down-week." I have been given a gift of time right now that I probably won't ever have again. So I'm trying to take advantage of it, hence working on my high school album. I just wish there was just a little more going on.

Not to depress you too much, I'll leave you with some photos of the Ocean Springs Bridge. It's a bridge we drive to get over to Biloxi, where the base is located, from where we're living. Over and back is about 3.8 miles with a killer hill. I run it about twice a week.

Anniversaries

2009-09-28T13:16:00.000-07:00

In Loving Memory of Willard 'Bill' Sass 3/5/28-9-30/69
You are in our hearts forver...
Love, Betty, Sherry, Bev, Colleen, and Dean

This handsome devil is my Grandpa Sass. Wednesday marks the 40th anniversary of his death. He was young, 42. But, as with all of his brothers, he didn't eat particularly healthy food or lead a healthy lifestyle, and so a heart attack took him at the beginning of my mom's senior year of high school. He was Bill Sass, a radio DJ for WMT in Cedar Rapids, IA, as well as a trumpeter and singer for a polka band. He was fairly well known in the area--especially for his humor and laugh...so I've heard. I wish I'd known him, especially since I've grown up being told that I'm the "spittin' image" of him. No doubt we share some characteristics. I think he'd be described as gregarious. I like that.

My Aunt Bev had the radio station he worked for play his opening number Sunday morning in his honor. Then they played a polka in honor of Grandma, who did a extraordinary job raising four children on her own. It wasn't easy and being alone all these years hasn't been easy for her. But Grandma's a kick and I admire her greatly for all that she has done. I don't think she fully understands how amazingingly well her four children turned out. They are loving, caring, hardworking people with good heads on their shoulders. Life hasn't been easy for any of them, but they all stay positive. Through divorces, job changes, health issues--through it all they've put their faith in Christ and He's carried them through. And they like being with each other and their fun! Our two family weddings this year are proof--we're a kickin' family! The radio broadcast on Sunday had live streaming online, so my mom in Texas, my Aunt Colleen in Minneapolis, my Uncle Dean in San Diego, and my Aunt Bev and Grandma in Cedar Rapids all listened to Grandpa on the radio one more time together as a family.

I'll end here with a picture of Grandma and I dancing a polka at my wedding. Kelly did the same thing at her wedding. It wouldn't have been the same without at least one polka with Grandma.

Fall

2009-09-25T06:16:00.001-07:00

Someone has forgotten to tell the South that it's Fall and the temps should be decreasing! Next week looks like it may cool off a bit and we'll get a reprieve from the rain and high humidity. That's a glorious thought!

Meanwhile, I'm getting my Creative Memories business up and running. I presented at a Get Together last night and the ladies were awesome! Just great ladies to begin with and then they were extremely excited about the products and the possibilities for preserving their memories. I've got a special "Digital and Dessert" night scheduled with them for mid-October. I can't wait!

Here's a pic of what I've been working on. My high school album. I have freshman year finished. I have an insane number of pictures, so parring it down and choosing only those that really represent my memories of high school has been fun. I do have a solid group of friends from that time yet today. :)

Lisa Leonard Designs Jewelry GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-09-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

Lisa Leonard Designs Jewelry GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Oh Jamie, you get me hooked on the coolest blogs!

Finally Finished!

2009-09-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

The pain, the hours of reading, the test, the practicum, all finally felt worth it when this arrived today!