Scrapbooking Retreat

This weekend I had the opportunity to do something I haven't done in quite some time... going on a scrapbooking retreat. My friends Sheila and Julie were organizing it, and it was a "no frills" retreat - aka cheap! So on Friday afternoon I headed down to the Bar Harbor Inn, scrapbooking bags packed in the back. Once at the Inn, I met up with Sheila and the other ladies, and they helped me carry all my junk upstairs. Sheila then told me that the room we were supposed to stay in ended up having a pipe burst, so they had to change our room.... this could be really good or really bad. Well, it turned out to be wonderful! We had a 2-story room! You walk in and see the bed, sitting area, bathroom (with a tub with jacuzzi jets), and desk. Then, you go to the left, and there's stairs leading up to the next level, where there is a king-size bed, another sitting area, another bathroom, and an 0cean-view deck. We had a sweet suite!

After getting settled, we headed to the scrapbooking room to get started. I had not been able to get as many photos developed as I wanted to, but I did have enough to get to work. On Friday night I completed 20 pages (without journaling). Woohoo! That night I went to bed later than usual, but still early for a retreat weekend. Saturday we had a lovely breakfast and then headed back to the room where we were working on our albums. We had a great time working Saturday, and I completed another 18 pages in my Heritage album (no journaling). Then I got caught up on my journaling in my family album and also worked on journaling in my youth group album. I realized on Friday night that I had forgotten something very important - my paper!! Thankfully I had thrown in a few new packs which allowed me to do the heritage album, and I was also able to mooch off a few friends. But I didn't get caught up on the youth group album since I really wanted my brighter papers for that. Finally, today I completed a little gifty album for someone and caught up on last touches of journaling.

It was a very productive weekend, with lots of laughter, fun, but also scrapping. I told the girls when I got there that I was going to be serious, and I was! In total, I completed 38 pages (20 with journaling), caught up on journaling in 2 albums, and completed a small gift album. Plus we went out to dinner Saturday night at Geddy's, which was very yummy. And I took a bath both Friday and Saturday nights since I never get to take baths at home. Yay!

On the way home, I drove back with Vernelia and Sheila, and amazingly we fit all of our stuff in my car! We stopped for lunch in Ellsworth at the new KFC/Taco Bell. We probably waited 20 minutes for our "fast food". But it turned out okay, because we finally got to eat. I was really happy to finally be home, and Mia and Moxie were extremely excited to see me. It was quite cute. Then I snuggled on the couch with Scott while he watched a movie, and I ended up falling asleep. Finally, I woke up and did a few things around the house. Now I'm ending the evening watching "Extreme Home Makeover". Overall, a great weekend.

Blah

That is how I'm feeling today. I started the day by going to the dentist's office waaaay too early. Upon returning home, I read a little bit and then curled up for a nap. Then I was up to do some business for a few hours, although I don't feel that I accomplished very much. Then I ate some food, followed by some surfing the net. After this I convinced Scott to watch a movie with me, so we watched "Enchanted" which I got on netflix today. That was very cute, but I did start to drift off to sleep at the end.

I wasn't feeling that great today either, so I had to eat things that were pretty bland - oatmeal, soup, chicken and rice. Now I'm sitting here on my couch - I opted out of going to the Good Friday service with Scott cause I wasn't feeling well. I'm feeling quite lazy, but when I get up and move around, I feel pretty icky. So now I'm watching Jeopardy, which I don't even like, but there's nothing else on. Urgh.

So that's about it... blah. Sorry for the lack of posting lately, but my most recent posts didn't get many comments, so I was punishing you all! Just kidding. But come on, comment people!

Snow Camp Recap Part 2

Ok, I am a bit more awake than I was last night, so I'll try to finish this. I think I left off with Night Sledding, which was so much fun. We finally got done sledding at 11:30pm, so we didn't actually have lights out until 12pm. The next morning we were up for devos at 8am, followed by breakfast at 8:30am. After that, we had some time to get ready (for those who were still in pjs) and then we had our group worship and devotion at 9:45. I actually spoke this year for the first time, which was a little scary, but I think it went okay. Thankfully I've gotten a bit better at public speaking than when I was in high school.

After that, it was time for some more sledding outside!!! This time, we went on a trail through the woods instead of the road, because the road was getting very slushy due to the warm temps and sunshine. The sledding was tons of fun, as usual - I thought it was actually quite fast, and the trail was much narrower which made it harder to pass other people. I took some video of everyone on the last run, which you can check out at my facebook site. It started to rain and it was lunchtime, so we finally went inside (much to some of the kids' chagrin).

Lunch was great, and then we had some free time. I took a nap, or attempted to, during free time. Then some people went outside for snow soccer in the pouring rain (crazy!) and others stayed inside for a game of "Honey if you love me, smile". It was so fun watching the kids play the game - as usual, they were reluctant to play at first, but then they got really into it. This was followed by more free time, and then dinner. After dinner we had another devotional time with Kevin Smith speaking. Then we did another group game which DJ taught us - Signs. It was great fun, and people continued playing for hours (yes, hours) after it was officially "free time". Others did other games such as Cranium.

Saturday night we went to bed a bit earlier, but we lost an hour of sleep. All the girls slept in a bit more the next morning, and we started off again with personal devos. Then we had a breakfast of baked oatmeal - yummy! Then there was time to get ready/pack, and then we had our final worship time together. My wonderful hubby spoke and closed out the weekend. Then everyone got their stuff together, and then we had lunch. After lunch it was a bit of a waiting game, waiting to get everyone down the hill to the vans. The van ride home was filled with lots of mafia playing, which is quite funny to listen to in a van. Once back at the church, the students disappeared faster than I've ever seen - I think they were tired!! Scott and I returned the vans to Ford, and then went back to the church to get my car. Then Scott went to get Mia and I picked up Chinese food on the way home. Finally, at about 7pm, we settled in and had dinner and watched a movie. The end.

Snow Camp Recap Part 1

We are back. I know I've been kind of MIA in the blogosphere, but hopefully I'll do better soon. We left on Friday afternoon for Snow Camp with 33 teenagers and 6 leaders. We had 3 15 passenger vans plus a trailer for all the STUFF. We had a bit of a slow start, but finally got on the road by about 4:15. We arrived at Blueberry Mtn. Bible Camp by about 6:45, and then we had to park the vans and ride up with the staff to the lodge. Once inside, we had dinner which was wonderful - we were all so hungry!! Then we got our bags and took them to the rooms, and then we had our first worship and devotional time. After that was over, it was about 10pm. Time for Night Sledding!!! Let me just say, that is one of the craziest, funnest things I have ever done. Going down a hill in COMPLETE darkness (no moonlight or even stars out) at crazy speeds and not knowing when the next turn will come... yeah, crazy. There was a lot of crashing, a lot of screaming, and just overall fun. Scott and I went down together once, and I got so much snow on my face because everytime he'd use his feet to slow down, it would cause the snow to fly into my face. And we went super-fast when we were together.

Well I am so exhausted so I'll have to sign off for now. More to come soon...

Tag!

Ok, Amy started this so I figured I'd do it as well. You're supposed to take the letters of your middle name and tell everyone something about yourself. Mine is easy cause my middle name is short. And then you're supposed to tag the same number of people as letters in your middle name. But Amy tagged everyone that I would've tagged, so oh well. Here we go:

D - Daring. Yes, some people might say that I am daring, and I would also agree. I enjoy the adrenaline rush of jumping off a bridge into the water or rappelling off a cliff. Within reason, of course, but I do love a good dare.

A - Adventurous. This kind of goes along with the first one, but I love going on adventures. Traveling to exotic places, adventuring around Maine, or driving just for the fun of driving.

W - Worker. Ok, this is kind of a silly one, but I guess I am someone who works hard. If I am committed to something, then I will put my all into it in order to succeed.

N - Non-Conformist. I had to stretch on this one, as none of these words seemed to fit - nice, nifty, naughty, or normal. But I am definitely not a conformist. I don't like to just do what everyone else does - I try to be myself and encourage others to also be themselves.

Well I guess that's it for now!

Dunkin' Donuts

I recently got a gift card to Dunkin' Donuts from my boss for my exemplary performance at work. Ok, that's an exaggeration. She did give me a gift card, but it was just for what I consider doing my job. Anyway, I was SUPER excited because I love free stuff! Especially free donuts, coffee, and bagels. So today I headed to work and wanted to use my gift card. I drove up the drive thru, ordered my cinnamon raisin bagel, toasted, with cream cheese on the side and a french vanilla coffee - just sugar, no cream. I got my order, paid with my gift card, and pulled up a few feet to make sure they got my bagel right. Then I turned out onto Broadway and headed to work. That's when I looked down at my coffee, and saw a little "C" on the top. Then I looked and saw that they had put creamer in the coffee. ICK. And not just a little creamer, apparently it was EXTRA CREAM. So then I took a sip. NO SUGAR!

What the heck? Why can't they just get a simple order right. ALWAYS, always, check your order before driving away. I honestly almost drove back to complain and get my correct coffee. But I decided if I couldn't handle it, I would just get coffee at work. That was the nastiest cup of coffee I've had in a while - the creamer literally drowns out the taste of the coffee.

So, that was quite a frustrating experience. Thankfully, it didn't totally ruin my day. I had to drive a lot today but it was a beautiful drive - down by the coast and it was just beautiful! Anyway, now I'm gonna eat some yummy chocolate eggs that I bought at Target - that will DEFINITELY make up for the coffee escapade!

14 Things I Love

Ok, Amy did this so I feel that I should too. It's a fun little game. Since today is Valentine's Day, and it's the 14th of the month, you write out 14 things you love. So here I go:

1. My hubby! He is super-awesome and I am so blessed to have him. Tonight he warmed up a hot pocket for me and it was just so sweet. (We're going out to dinner tomorrow night so as to avoid the crazy Valentine's crowd).
2. My doggies. Yes, I do love Moxie and Mia. They add a lot of fun to our lives, and even though they (mostly Moxie) can be incredibly naughty, I still love 'em. It's funny to see them play together as well as get jealous of each other when we give one of them attention.
3. Can't forget my sweet kitty - Kira. She is snuggly and I love how she usually curls up against my legs at night to sleep.
4. Friends - Shan, Jess, Amy, Sarah, and many many more. I love the fact that each of you have impacted my life in one way or another. I feel blessed to have such awesome friends.
5. My family - Mom, Naomi, and all my other extended family. I am glad that me and my sister get along a lot better now. And my mom is a friend and business partner, and I love her!
6. Our youth group kids - I love all the students that come to Beyond Existence! They teach me a lot about life, about what's important, and about how to keep my life in balance.
7. My business - I have been so blessed to have been introduced to my company and business in November of 2006. It has been a lot of fun not only achieving my own wellness goals but also helping others achieve theirs. I also love my support team who have helped me achieve these goals and the fact that Sheila promoted to Senior Director today!
8. Being outdoors. I love going for hikes, spending time by the ocean, camping under the stars, and seeing all the beautiful sights.
9. Traveling. I love going to new places and old favorites as well. Particularly Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Cuba. I'd love to go to Colombia sometime, as well as Europe, New Zealand, the Caribbean, and Hawaii.
10. Playing games. Current faves are "Settlers of Catan", "Cranium", and "Scrabble." I also love "Mafia" which I was first introduced to on LASP.
11. My job. I really enjoy my foster care job - I love the flexible schedule, working only part-time, and my supervisor and boss. On Friday, I had to go in and help with a crisis, and that is usually my day off. My boss gave me a card on Tuesday that said "Queen of Everything" : ) and also gave me a gift card to Dunkin Donuts. It's nice to be appreciated!
12. Reminiscing. Sometimes it's fun to look back at the past and realize how much you've changed. Or just watching old tv shows, such as "Saved by the Bell" on netflix. Ah, the late '80s, early '90s. Those were some crazy years.
13. Yummy food. Yes, I am in love with food. I am trying to eat healthier nowadays, but I still love pizza, tacos, Italian food, and Mexican food (On the Border!). It's fun to eat. ; )
14. Life in general. I am thankful for the life God has given me. Although there have been some hard times, I feel that the good has far outweighed the bad. I am looking forward to continuing to live life to the fullest!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I just want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! And what a day it has been... Let me share. I started out this morning by getting up at a decent time and getting ready for work. I had everything ready to go last night, so that helped. Then I started driving to work, and had to drive slowly on our road because it was covered in ice. People were tailing me but I didn't care as I wanted to be safe. Once I got out onto Broadway and it was much better - mostly wet. So then I was coming up on the Pushaw Road and realized that the car in front of me was braking. So I started braking, and then slipping, sliding, and swerving ensued. NOT FUN. All I could do was pray that I was not going to hit the back of the car in front of me. I came about 6" from hitting that car. I ended up sideways facing the stupid snowbank. Gosh, not a good way to start Valentine's Day.

At work, I had a crazy day that involved prepping for a team meeting that I was not looking forward to. Then I had an appointment, followed by the team meeting. That actually went better than I thought. But then I had to make tons of phone calls and my phone kept ringing, and yet it seemed that I didn't really get much accomplished. So after that, I finally got all my stuff ready to go and head home. As I was walking down the hallway, I realized that I forgot to call someone I was supposed to. So then I turned around to make the call, which lasted over 20 minutes - argh!

Finally I got to come home, and that drive home was much safer than the one to work. At home, Moxie jumped on me and snagged my coat, which was annoying. But then I saw Scott and he hugged me. Yay! Then I went to turn on my computer, and I found a lovely card from Scott inside. The card directed me to look under my pillow, where I found some lovely socks which look very cozy. Now, I am sitting next to him on the couch, being lazy and relaxing my evening away. We plan to celebrate Valentine's tomorrow by going out to dinner somewhere... any suggestions?

Update on Politics

I'm sure this is not news to you, but Romney has "suspended" his campaign. Which means McCain is going to be the Republican nominee. Unless, of course, something crazy happens. But there is no way that Huckabee is gonna get the delegates he would need. I know there's a lot of Christians out there who would like to see Huckabee get the nomination, but I believe you have to look not only at someone's religion, but also their political background and choices. Anyway, even though Romney won Maine with more than 50% of the vote, he's out.

So now I am faced with the same dilemma as many other conservative voters. Vote for McCain, vote for the 3rd party, or not vote at all? I would probably be leaning towards voting for McCain, simply because I don't feel that Clinton or Obama would be the right choice. Time will tell...

Good Movie

Scott and I watched "License to Wed" tonight. I had a free rental at the Movie Gallery, so I choose a chick flick of course. But Scott agreed to watch it with me. It turned out to be very cute and funny as well. I thought it was great - and Scott said it was the only movie he had seen with Robin Williams that he could actually stand - which is code for him thinking it was good.

Anyway, it's hard to find decent movies out there and I thought this one actually was quite good.

Politics, Politics, So Confusing!

As a child and teenager, I really wasn't into politics. I didn't understand it, and I didn't care. But once I got to college and then especially during my time in Central America, I realized that politics were important. Even so, I still agree with MXPX - Politics are so confusing!

On Saturday, I attended my first caucus. I went because I wanted to make my voice heard. With the Republican race so tight, I wanted to do my best to keep McCain off the Republican ticket. It was a very interesting experience. It started at 1pm, and much of the time was spent with announcements and people running for state office asking for our support. Anyway, once it finally came to do the caucus, we were supposed to be with our town. However, what ended up happening was a lot of standing around and waiting for someone to tell us where to go. Finally, I found the other Glenburnites and we all sat down. We realized that none of us had ever been at a caucus before, and therefore none of us knew what we were doing. Somehow I was elected secretary of the caucus, and therefore I ended up taking notes and I still have to type them up and send them in.

Well, after all was said and done, Glenburn actually had a majority for Huckabee (not me - I went for Romney), but Romney took the state with 52%. Of course, we get no national media coverage since we are such a small state, but I was still surprised with the vote, given that we are a very independent state with very "moderate" Republican Senators.

So now I'm sitting here on Super Tuesday waiting to find out who will end up with the nomination. Of course, it might not be decided tonight - in fact I hope it's not! It's looking good since Huckabee has actually taken a few of the southern states, with McCain even losing West Virginia with only 1% of the vote! Many people were ready to hand McCain the nomination, but perhaps the conservative voters are getting out and voting for Romney or Huckabee instead of the non-conservative McCain.

Well I think that's all the politics my brain can handle today. I am hoping that tomorrow will bring good news that McCain is not necessarily the nominee on the Republican side.

What the *&@%* are they thinking?

Okay, I know that's a bit of a drastic title. But I am just livid. Let me explain. I work part-time at a local foster care agency. I have worked in this field for about 5 1/2 years. I know that foster parents have one of the hardest jobs out there. They care for some of the most neglected, abused, abandoned children in our communities. They sacrifice a normal life for themselves and their biological children in order to serve the children who have had so many difficult experiences.

But that is not what I am upset about. I'm upset at Govenor Baldacci and the DHHS who are proposing DRASTIC cuts to the foster care and adoptive families. The state has a budget shortfall - I understand that. I also understand that there are a lot of ways to cut the budget, such as adminstratively and through unnecessary programs. But what the state is planning to do is to cut foster care reimbursement rates by 30%! Not to mention that they have already cut the respite and rec funds that took effect immediately.

Unfortunately, the state doesn't seem to recognize that cutting foster parent's reimbursement rates is going to do several things:

1. Foster parents will either not take new placements and/or have to relinquish their current placements. This is not because foster parents are "in it for the money". It is because it requires money to support these children, many of whom have several mental and physical health issues related to their previous histories of abuse and neglect.
2. As a result of the first event, more and more children will end up in residential, hospitalization, on the streets, or in correctional facilities. That, in the end, will cost the state hundreds of thousands of more dollars. The state says they will utilize kinship families more as well as "continue to support foster families" in ways other than financially. This falls on deaf ears when foster parents are experiencing the second cut within the past 4 years.
3. Children who do remain in foster homes will have less support and intervention since many foster parents who currently stay at home to take care of these children will have to go get a full time job to survive. That means that the children will end up in day care and other places that really can't meet their needs. The foster parents are highly skilled, trained individuals who give so much of their lives for these children. So now, they are going to have to go out, get a job, and only be able to work with the children 2-3 hours in the evening instead of being available whenever the children need them. (Note: most of these foster families have one parent working while the other parent stays at home with the children due to the number of appointments and services the children have).

Even if you are not involved in foster care yourself, you probably know someone who has been a foster parent or who has adopted a child. These cuts are also affecting people who have adopted and received an adoption subsidy. They signed a contract with the state and now the state is changing that contract by lowering the subsidy. I encourage everyone to speak up and contact the state legislators who will be voting on this budget soon. Tomorrow there is a hearing at the State House and there will be testimony from foster parents and others involved in this situation. But the more people speak up and write to the decision makers, the more chance we have of making a change to this ridiculous budget proposal.

Ever Have One of Those Weeks?

Have you ever had one of those weeks when nothing seems to go right? Yup, I have.

That's all.

Working Out

So in my quest to work out 3 times a week, I had it all planned out to go to Planet Fitness today. I had packed my bag of clothes, brought my Access bar, and my ipod. I even remembered my earbuds, which I always seem to forget so I end up just staring up at the tvs without any sound while I work out.

I had a long day at work involving a lot of paperwork. It actually went by quite quickly and I got a lot accomplished. But my shoulder was sore the whole day and I just wanted to work out to help loosen up my muscles! So I drove to the gym after work, got out of my car and started walking towards the doors. Then I looked in my bag, which felt a little light. Well, that's when I realized I had forgotten something incredibly important - my sneakers! And it wasn't like I was wearing shoes that could work for the gym - I was wearing my black dress boots. Not gonna happen.

So I promptly turned around and went back to my car. I drove home and opted for one of my workout videos. Not the same, but at least I did something.

Lesson learned: Don't forget your sneakers when you got to the gym!!

Moxie was lost... and now he's found!

Scott and I are at a marriage retreat this weekend, so our dogs are staying with other people. Mia is at my mom's, and Moxie is some wonderful people from our church's home. Last night, apparently they had friends over for dinner and Moxie had lots of fun playing with them. When they were leaving, Moxie and the other 2 dogs were outside. Well, when the friends started driving down the driveway, Moxie decided he had so much fun that he wanted them to stay. So he ran after them. And he ran and ran out the driveway. Ahhh!!

Scott R ran after him, but he was gone. Then Karen and Scott went looking for him until super late (or early in the morning). They called us this morning to tell us that Moxie was missing and they still hadn't found him. Well, I called home since our number is on Moxie's tag. Someone had called and said they found him, but it was not clear whether they were going to hold onto him or leave him by the road or what. So I tried calling the guy, but I couldn't reach him. We talked to Karen again and told her that, and she also called the local animal control to find out if anyone had turned him in.

Well, it was a rather emotional morning since I didn't really know if Moxie was okay or not - if he was out in the woods somewhere, laying beside the road, or safely inside someone's home. This afternoon while I was out in Camden, Karen called to say the guy had called back. Apparently they had taken him home and let him stay in a crate in their heated garage. They had also fed him!

I was soooo thankful that he is found!! Yay! I am so glad and now I don't have to worry anymore...

SNOW Much Fun!

Anyone who lives in Maine knows how much snow we have right now. But for those of you who don't live here, it's A LOT! Here's a few pics of the fun we've been having with snow lately. (Note: Fun does not involve driving in the snow, shoveling the snow, or paying to be plowed out every other day!)

My Best Christmas Present!

Well my friends, Christmas Eve was a good day. Let me share... we got up slightly late, but not too much, because we knew we had a big day ahead of us. I cleaned up the kitchen (it was a MESS) while Scott prepped the living room. Then I made us a big french toast and bacon breakfast, which we ate in bed, because that was the only place we could find to sit in our home!

After cleaning up breakfast, the fun began. We began installing our new laminate flooring in our living room. For those of us who know us, you know that we've been working on this remodel for several months (4 years actually, but this past 4 months we've been doing the living room and dining room). So it was really exciting to actually be able to put the flooring in. Amazingly, Scott and I didn't argue the whole time. We worked together and got it installed in about 3 hours! Then, we took a lunch break and relaxed a bit. After that, we got back to work with arranging furniture. It was hard to decide where to put everything, but we finally decided - for now.

Of course, the room is not completed. We still have to paint the top border and paint and put up the trim. But, it is SO WONDERFUL to be mostly done the room. We can now actually sit and relax in the room, and it looks so good! Anyway, here are some before, during, and after pictures:

A Christmas Song

Two days away from Christmas... wow, I can't believe this year has gone by so fast. I am so excited for Christmas - I love this holiday. But as our pastor pointed out this morning in his sermon, we have to remember why Jesus came to earth: to die. When you think about that, it makes you even more appreciative of the gift He gave us. In that light, I want to share some song lyrics from a song I heard this past week. It is becoming one of my favorite Christmas songs. It is by Flyfleaf, but it's one of their softer songs. Here it is:

Christmas Song
A frightened virgin teenage girl
Receives a message that defies the laws of this world
All she can do is weep and nod
She's to bring into this world the Son of God

God's angels sound their trumpets
And blow their horns
Tonight the long awaited savior is to be born
The goodness bound by Satan it has been torn
With this baby's precious brow ready for thorns

A star appears fulfilling ancient prophecy
There's an ounce of fear as wise men follow faithfully
The Virgin Mary brings forth the human savior
And this future king sleeps soundly in the manger
Soundly in the manger

God's angels sound their trumpets
And blow their horns
Tonight the long awaited savior is to be born
The goodness bound by Satan it has been torn
With this baby's precious brow ready for thorns

Tonight He is born so one day He can die
To heal hearts that are torn and live the perfect life
So He hang upon a cross and we can take His life
So we can live as sinners
And He can pay the price
Tonight He is born so one day he can die
But He will rise again

God's angels sound their trumpets
And blow their horns
Tonight the long awaited savior is to be born
The goodness bound by Satan it has been torn
With this baby's precious brow ready for thorns

Virtual Christmas Letter

As opposed to sending out a letter to every family member and friend on earth, we decided to write a virtual Christmas letter here online! Enjoy : )

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from snowy Maine! This year we've had more snow than usual, and now we're in the midst of another snowstorm. Today we're supposed to get 5-8" plus sleet and freezing rain. Oh the joys of living in Maine! We hope that wherever this letter finds you, you and your family are happy and healthy this year!

Scott and I have had a very full year. One thing that has kept us quite busy is Scott's job as the youth pastor at Church of the Open Door in Hampden. In March, we had our annual Winter Retreat for the teens, and this year we combined with another local church and went to Fairhaven Camps for the retreat. That was a lot of fun, despite being snowed in at the church for the first night (and sleeping on the floor). Later in the year we went to New York with 3 teens on a Group Workcamps missions trip. Although we had a small group, God still taught us a lot on that trip. The theme was "Renovate", and while we renovated other people's houses, we were also learning about how God wants to renovate our hearts and lives.

In the past few months, we also did a trip to a local farm, Treworgy Orchards, and did the corn maze there with the youth. That was followed by a large bonfire at one of our volunteer's house. Finally, we had a Christmas party for the junior high and then one for the senior high the following day. We had the traditional Yankee Swap, but instead of having the kids purchase gifts, they had to find or make something. Then, we collected donations from them to put towards a gift through World Vision's Christmas catalog. Our group chose to donate some chickens and a goat to families in developing nations. We raised over $200 between the two groups!

Scott is still enjoying his job a lot and is often amazed that he gets paid to tell kids about Jesus! We have many students coming from the local public schools. We also have many students who come from other churches that do not have youth group programs. We are very blessed to be a part of their lives, and we learn a lot from them. In the fall they surprised us with a bunch of cards and a gift certificate to Dysart's. Thank you guys!

As for me, at the start of the year I was still working full time and had just recently started a new home business as well. This has been an exciting year, as I have been able to cut back to working part-time. I am now at Families & Children Together as a Family Advocate, which is a fancy way of saying I'm a case manager for foster children. I enjoy the job a lot - it's 20 hours a week, flexible hours, great co-workers, and wonderful families to work with.

My new business has been going well also. I've been helping others get safer, healthier products for their home, and also earn some extra money if they want to. In October, I advanced to Director IV, which is much more than I originally thought I'd do last year at this time. However, it has truly been a lot of fun, and I feel blessed to be a part of such a great company and support team. In August, Scott and I went to Altanta, GA for the convention. Mom and Paul also went with us. We had a lot of fun despite the 90+ degrees weather every day (we were inside most of the time).

One other exciting event of this year is that we added a new family member. No, not a baby... we got a puppy! His name is Moxie, and now he's about 8 months old. He is a black lab, and we got him from our friends when their dog had a litter of puppies. He's been a spunky addition to our home. He's still learning how to behave appropriately, and I often find him with laundry strewn about the bathroom or licking out a pan on the stove. However, we do love him, and he and Mia love to play together.

Another thing that has kept us busy this year has been renovating our home. Most of you know that we bought this house 4 years ago with hopes to renovate. We did a lot before we moved in, and have continued since then. But the living room and dining room have been neglected as it was such a big project. We were able to start tackling this project this fall thanks to my business income. We are in the middle of painting the two rooms, and soon we'll be putting down the flooring! We'll be sure to post photos here when we are done, so be sure to visit often.

Thank you all for being a part of our lives. We pray that God blesses your family this Christmas as much as He has blessed us!

With Love,
Esther & Scott
(and Kira, Mia, & Moxie)

The Loud Ones Get All the Attention

I've noticed that most of my photos on here are of my dogs. So I thought I'd share some photos of my beautiful cat, Kira. She's not as loud as the dogs, but don't worry, she still gets lots of attention. Plus, she gets the privilege of being upstairs when the dogs are downstaris...

This last one is my favorite! Tell me what you think.