Faith-isms

Faith has just been cracking me up the last few weeks, with all the silly things she says. Not just mistakes (which are so funny) but the way she phrases things, and the look on her face....I swear, she thinks she's 15 years old. They might not be as funny in words, without seeing the whole package that is 'Faith' but I had to write them down to remember...

Faith has been singing a lot of worship songs lately, which is super cute. Even cuter is that her favorite to sing is 'Mighty to Save'....and Faith, instead of singing 'He rose and conquered the grave', sings HONQUERED the grave, and sings it over and over at the top of her lungs! =]

Lately, when Faith wants a drink, she now says 'Mama, I think my tummy is trying to get thirsty.' =]

Last week, we were wasting time in Target waiting for Jeremy to meet us for lunch, and they were playing 'Spiderman 3' in the electronics section...a scene where Spiderman is saving a girl who had just fallen off a building. Faith was very concern about this girl, and talked about it all through lunch. About what she was doing, her family, what she eats, where she lives.....Now, we pray for her every night. =]

This evening, Jeremy was drinking a can of pepsi on the couch, and Faith instantly instructed 'Daddy, we don't drink on Mommy's new couch!' To which I replied, 'Well, I really just don't want kids eating or drinking on my new couches.' Faith yelled 'Or Jeremy's!' =]

I'm sure there are many more to come...love my 3 year old!

Strong Enough

I've had the lyrics to an old Stacie Orrico song stuck in my head for the past few days, and thought I'd share:

"Will my weakness for an hour make me suffer for a lifetime?

Is there anyway to be made whole again?

If I'm healed, renewed, and find forgiveness, find the strength I've never had

Will my scars forever ruin all God's plans?

Is He not strong enough? Is He not pure enough?

To break me, pour me out and start again?

Is He not brave enough to take one chance on me?

Oh can I have the chance to start again?"

This song is one of a very short list of songs that can bring me to tears. The words always pop up in my head, every now and again. I struggle with a never-ending battle of control. Control to do things my way, in my time. And every time my plans fail, I wonder why. These words remind me of the amazing grace of God. My favorite part is 'Will my scars forever ruin all God's plans?' I'm so thankful that God is bigger than any trouble of mine. That I can come, broken and shattered, and still be used for His purpose. That every day, I get the chance to start again.

Finally

Okay, this will be the last of my scrapbooking binge for awhile, but I am just so excited cause I was able to finish my inspiration wall, to complete my scrapbook room!!! YAY

I found these GREAT pictures frames @ Salvation Army today, and they were all on sale for 99 cents a piece!!! (Except the big one, I paid $10):

Then, I spray painted them all white....

And my wall is complete!

I love all the bright colors, and my favorite people in the world on the wall....my family. Anyway, just so glad to have it done! Now, onto the kitchen! It's been almost three months I've had only half a kitchen (no sink or dishwasher), but we finally have people coming on Saturday to work on it!!! I can't wait to have a kitchen again! =]

Speaking of Scrapbooking...

So, even though I haven't found the time to enjoy my new scrapbook room yet, I'm still on the high of having my own space. A few times over the last few days, I've just walked in to stare at my room and imagine all the things I could do in the future with the room.

So, I'm totally a nerd cause Scrapbooking is my escape, and I'm not afraid to admit how much I love it. It's very theraputic for me, and I love having the memories forever to share with my kids one day. A few people have asked me in the past to share my scrapbook pages and even send them in, but I've never really been motivated to do so because it's my own. My scrapbooking has for sure evolved over the years, I've been doing it before it was ever an official hobby with a title. But, there are a few pages that are my absolute favorite, and I've decided to share them since I can't sit down and actually make new ones right now.

'Precious Moments' This is one of the first pages I ever made for Faith's album that I remember being really proud of...I did all the letters and pictures by hand. And I love all of Faith's little part.

'Seasons' I stole this idea I believe from an idea book, but I love the way it turned out and the way it shows Faith's first four seasons and how she changed. What a cutie!

'The View of Love' Also one of the first pages I made...I hate the pictures themselves, but I love the simplicity of the lines and colors.

'It's a BOY' There's something I love about this page, maybe because it took me forever to finally put together just right and sew all the buttons....and I loved the accent paper

'Remember' This is a more recent page I made, wanting to remember life lessons I've either learned the hard way or seems to forget on a regular basis. And one of the first times I got to use my Cricut machine!

'Mister Personality' I love these two photos of Caleb...and I loved the way the layout and journaling complimented it...and the colors were perfect. It just makes me smile.

'Sibling Love' A newer page, I love the distressed look...sanding is one of my favorite techniques! But I love these photos I'd taken of the kids for our Christmas cards.

'Caught Reading' This is probably my absolute favorite page. The layout itself is simple and subtle, but I love that it's not straight, I love the detail...but even more, I love this picture (that was actually taken with my phone!) of Faith reading to her babydoll...cutest thing ever!

'Daughter are Special, Especially mine' I kinda love the business of this page, it's fun but doesn't take away from the fun photos. Very modern, and makes me think of summer when I look at it.

There ya have it...a few pieces of my heart and passion. Let me know what you think!

Scrapbook room finished!!!

My scrapbook room is finally complete!!!!

When we moved into our house, I instantly claimed this space as my future 'scrapbook space'....it's small, but cozy and just right for me to keep all my things in an inspiring place that's all mine. This is what the room looked like before:

Last week, we started putting drywall up...just on the ceiling and unfinished wall, we left the concrete walls exposed so I didn't lose too much space in the room (it really is tiny already). Jeremy did an amazing job re-wiring the room so I actually had working outlets in there, put some pots lights in to brighten it up, and helped me mud and tape. But I would like to toot my own horn for a second, because I did a lot of mudding, sanding, and ALL the painting myself! This is how it turned out:YAY! I love it! The color of the wall is called 'Sparkler' and is just bright and fun, not a color I would ever pick inside my home (I am nuetral tones kinda girl, but I wanted something different). Once I get this room completely finished, it will have an inspiration wall, and of course, lots of beautiful photos to display. The room already have shelf racks screwed into the concrete that I didn't want to bother with, so Jeremy picked up the perfect brackets and white shelves to match! Just the extra storage I was looking for! Now...the walls are concrete, none of the desks match, nothing is fancy, but I love it!!! I'm so excited to get some scrapbooking done!! Yesterday, in anticipation of using my new room, I caught up on my digital photos and ordered a bunch that I want to scrapbook from Snapfish.com (love that place!)

Bartender = Evangelist?

I've now been working @ East Side Marios for five years....crazy how time flies! (though some days it feels like it's been a lot longer). In January of last year, I was asked to move into the bar to be a bartender. I really had to think about the decision, and it's turned out to be an unexpected journey.

People that have known me for years are always shocked when I tell them I'm a bartender. I would have NEVER predicted it, but I was excited to learn something new at work and of course, make more money. Even more surprising, I never thought I'd enjoy it as much as I do, and I've been thinking about it a lot this week...

I remember Josh Graves telling a story @ church about a ministry student who at graduation decided the best thing to do with his education was to become a bartender. People come in aching to be heard, to find comfort, and what better place to bring the Word to the lost? Now, I have to admit that this was not my motivation for working in a bar, I'm certainly not an evangelist, but the thought has crossed my mind many times. It always makes me laugh at how many customers make comments to me about my great attitude and smile....It's not like I'm overly bubbly, I think that people aren't used to that in their everyday lives. Most of them are surrounded by heartache, burdens, stress, overwork, addictions, and sorrow and they don't know what do with a person who is content with their life and enjoys what they do. 

Even though I didn't get into bartending to bring people to God, it's surprised me how many biblical conversations I've had with people that I wouldn't have expected. But much more often, I feel like I've been very subtly presented with people who just needed an ear to listen, a smile, a laugh, someone to talk to. In the process, it has allowed me to learn to be a better listener, which wasn't always my strong suit. I find that many times, the bar crowd is more open and willing to talk about God issues than many church members, and are much less judgmental. That in itself can be a breath of fresh air sometimes. (Not to mention, most days work is the only time during the day I have adult interaction, so I look forward to it).

I still have my bad days where I let the atmosphere sometimes get the best of me, which makes me doubt my decision about being around a lot of that negativity. But overall, I think it's really opened my eyes to the world and it's heartache and given me a better understanding of my place and purpose in this world, and for that I'm thankful. It's also helped me appreciate my own life and realize how NORMAL I actually am! If nothing else, I hope that I've made a positive impact on someone's life. That would make it worth it to me. Plus, the awesome friends that I work with that I wouldn't trade for the world!

One of my favorite regulars (and Steve's BFF), Dave Nash

Great Lakes Rally

We packed up the family and headed to Beamsville, Ontario for the weekend. The trip was for two reasons: Jeremy was performing with DeeperStill @ the Great Lakes Youth Rally, and Jer's parents happen to live on campus and we haven't been to the house in almost a year! (That's sad to say) So, we were especially excited to visit, and had a great weekend.

I'd like to first say that the worship over the weekend was incredible. DeeperStill did a great job (as they always do) at leading and put on an amazing concert! This has always been one of our favorite rallies, and we were glad to come back and be a part of it this year. I'm so proud of the guys in the group and how much they've grown since the last time they did this show...and I totally missed hanging out with them all, since we all live in different states and I never get to see them anymore! Jeremy and I, and Jon and Holly Knutson stayed behind to lead Sunday evening worship @ the Beamsville Church of Christ, which was uplifting as well. They were a very enthusiastic congregation who were so welcome and friendly.

We stayed an extra day (Monday) so that we could visit with Jeremy's mom, his sister Bethany, and her two kids. We really wished we lived closer and could see the family more often, especially since Jer's dad got stuck on a job and wasn't able to make it home for the weekend, and his sister Melanie was still up in Sault Ste. Marie helping his other sister, April with her new baby Brennen, and her two other boys.

Needless to say, we had a good time. But for some reason, I'm exhausted (Actually I know the reason - I have two toddlers!) and am glad to be home and start getting my house back together. I will leave you with some photos of our weekend:

Scott, Chris, and Lara & David chillin' before sound check.

Dan chasing after Caleb in the gym! The kids never stopped running around!

Dan and me. I really wish Dan lived closer, I miss this guy!

I managed to talk Jeremy into taking one picture with me...

wish it had turned out better. Oh well.

Trying to get the kids still to take pictures at Nana's house.

This one makes me smile

Faith and her cousin, Mason. She was lovin' on him all weekend!