quick check-in

getting ready to head home and looking forward to another quiet evening in a week of quiet evenings... the first week of them since i took this ministry position with our church 8 weeks ago. almost like vacation... not ministry-free, by any means, and not work-free either... but no meetings... no deadlines, except getting ready for sunday. just quiet.

matt and i are trying something new: dinner at the dinner table, no distractions. a huge improvement from dinner on the couch in front of the TV. the truth is, i realized that if we want our kids raised eating dinner around the dinner table, we can't wait until our kids are old enough to eat at the dinner table to start eating at the dinner table - know what i mean? it has to be an established pattern before they even come into the world. so, we're establishing a pattern. it means no TV (who REALLY needs to see THAT episode of "friends" for the 19th time, anyway??), no cellphones, no radio. just food - served from dishes on the table, not served in the kitchen. sure, it's a little more work, and more dishes to clean, but as long as the meals themselves remain simple and the dishes get done daily, it won't be that much work. (ask me about this in 6 weeks, ok?) ;)

and date night: we've finally gotten solid about instituting our date night. it's important to spend quality time together beyond the norm of home life. it's something we want to have regularly when we have kids, but why wait until then to start. again - if we establish the pattern now, carrying on with it when kids arrive will be so much easier. recent date nights have included a movie (in a theatre!!), mini-golf, and dinners out (at new restaurants!!). future dates we're pondering may include a picnic under the stars, bowling, shopping at a building salvage store like Seattle's ReStore, museums, rented movies in, etc. so far, so fun.

and one more new thing for us: redecorating our bedroom. well, to be specific, we're finishing the decorating of our bedroom. when we moved in, it was beautifully painted in two tones of blue, included pretty new carpeting, and gorgeous curtain-rods with decorative finials. i had grand schemes for that room, and then never got very far - except for a new comforter. sadly, we never grew out of our 9-year-old slovenly selves when it comes to keeping our bedroom, so this effort is an attempt at making our room a nicer place to be. and if it's a nicer place to be, maybe we'll take better care of it. i've made the bed two days in a row this week. this is huge for me. hope i can continue it. and i'll post some before & after pictures as we move through this little project.

sharing a layout on my way out the door:

{"affection" - journaling reads: "to the untrained eye, this appears to be a gentle exchange of affections between two sisters. but i'm pretty sure it's a chokehold. rebecca & elizabeth. 10/06}

who doesn't love a tea party...

on saturday, i hosted a tea party for the K-2nd grade girls in our church. i thought this would be a great opportunity for me to get my feet wet in planning outreach events, and as an added bonus, the group is small enough in numbers that i could host it in my own home.

tons of planning, thought and energy went into pulling it off - but only because i'm incapable of planning a "small" event. but all the hard work paid off, and we had so much fun together.

three little girls, and two other "teachers" (as we're called), joined me for tea. i finally had the opportunity to use the china my mother-in-law gave me (though i bet she'd panic a bit if she knew it was being handled by 5 year olds). i dolled up the table with linens and cloth napkins (all wedding gifts) and doilies (made by matt's grandmother). it's obvious that sentimentality runs thick in my veins.

planning the food was a little bit of a challenge. i wanted to be as "authentic" as is realistic for someone who has virtually no experience with the culture of proper english tea, but i also had to cater to my guests - and i knew that 5 year old tastebuds wouldn't be interested in smoked salmon, asparagus and goat cheese quiche. so, i made a very basic cucumber sandwich (cucs and "garden vegetable" cream cheese), and then used a cookie cutter to cut bread into flower shapes which i used for pb&j "tea sandwiches". they were easily the hot item of the event. i made scones - my first attempt - and they were well received, especially when served with clotted cream (so easy to make!!). and the tea!! what is it about tea that it tastes SO much better brewed in a teapot??

our theme was "friendship", so i capitalized on the recent passing of Valentine's Day: cookies frosted with pink sprinkles; $1-aisle glittery decorations from Target; felt hearts and pink buttons for crafts. i told the story of Abraham and how "he believed God... and he was called God's friend" (James 2:23) and we talked about how we can be God's friend too.

my love of buttons lent itself nicely to the english/victorian tea theme. we played a game that involved finding buttons in a bowl of rice while blindfolded, as well as another game that required dropping a teabag into a teapot (ok, a pitcher) behind your back. the girls couldn't get enough of them, so everyone had multiple opportunities to play.

and the crafts. how could i not do crafts?? buttons save the day, again! i planned two crafts - a button bracelet (thank you, martha), and a door-hanging ornament made from a silver doilie, a red felt heart, the Bible verse from our story, and - you guessed it - buttons!

parents came to pick up their girls, and as the last guest left, we realized we couldn't wipe the grins off our faces! it was the perfect amount of time, perfect amount of activity, perfect amount of fun! i'm so glad i had my camera out and was taking pictures. it might've been alot of work to prepare, but i'd do it all again in a heartbeat!

v-day recap {g-rated}

our evening together last night was great, minus a few minor details. our plan was that we'd leave as soon as i got home, to make an early dinner reservation so that we could fit in a movie. i got home and he had *just* gotten into the shower - and dinner was in another city. i panicked a little (ok, a lot), and was pretty much beside myself. we walked out the door at the time we should've been arriving at the restaurant, where i'd reserved what was supposedly the last table they had open at that time slot.

we got to Canyons 20 minutes late - i was sure we'd be eating at mcdonalds, but they had no problem squeezing us in. (what about the fact that it was the "last" reservation??) dinner was pretty good - though not quite as we expected, and service was slow - i assume because of the date - but we made our movie on time, and even had time to grab popcorn and sodas.

and maybe it's because i was already a little on edge because we were running so late, but can i just say that the mere presence of the guy next to us who enjoyed his entire valentine's day meal with his wife with his blue-tooth device in his ear annoyed the crap out of me? oh man. i wanted to tap him on the shoulder and give him a clue!

we saw Music & Lyrics - i don't know when i saw a movie on it's opening night last. (oh yes i do - it was Harry Potter 1!) anyway, it was awesome. i thought it'd be cute - i didn't expect it to be fabulous. but it was. the writing was so great - hugh grant had some of the funniest lines. i love his work, and i thought the dynamic between him and drew barrymore couldn't have been any better. i love her work too. super cute together.

so that's it. went to the doctor today, and among other things, i got a tetanus shot. i am so feeling it now.

14 things about us on the 14th

(aka valentine's day)

1. we met online.

2. despite the fact that he's extremely shy around new people, he talked WAY too much on our first date, which nearly resulted in not having a second date.

3. he won me over with an email, asking if he could take me out for a romantic evening without revealing the details. he remembered that i liked basketball, took me to a quiet little italian restaurant, (where he ended up tipping like 30% because he was so nervous,) and then to a sonics game.

4. we have very few hobbies/enjoyed activities in common. he likes to go out and do stuff, i like to stay home and putter around. our date nights are a living testimony to the power of compromise.

5. when it comes to gender stereotypes, we're quite reversed: he's very sensitive, i'm very "let's get to the point and find a solution". (though, let's face it, i'm also very sensitive!)

6. we both find our greatest joy as individuals in accomplishing things. we find our greatest joy as a couple in accomplishing things together.

7. he's a romantic at heart. and i wouldn't have it any other way.

8. he doesn't mind watching chick-flicks with me, even though he grumbles and resists appropriately.

9. this is our 5th valentine's day together, but i feel like i've known him forever.

10. i like to sit in his garage and talk with him while he works.

11. he likes it too.

12. we tend to crave the same foods at the same time, and are usually thinking about the same restaurant before we decide to go out to eat.

13. we have yet to find unique pet-names that we can tolerate. everytime i try something other than "honey" or "sweetheart", i get shut down. and vice versa. ;)

14. i wouldn't trade him for anything.

a good day...

the difference between a good ministry day and a hard ministry day is nearly indescribable. after last sunday, i was discouraged, frustrated, and questioning my capability to handle the task i've been given. but today went so differently.

the first major difference i saw was the result of a prayer i prayed this morning. having run out of ways to pray that God would just help the kids to be well behaved, i changed it up and asked for anointing. instead of His hand on them to manage their behavior, i asked for His hand on us - that the words we say might carry an impact, that we might be worth paying attention to. and you know what? it worked. behavior problems were minimal, and what's more: the kids got it. they heard the lesson. they responded to it. they communicated their understanding of it.

and that makes me one very happy girl.

the second difference was a new discipline technique i've decided to try. i've watched a few SuperNanny episodes (mostly out of morbid curiosity, i admit), and something i've always found interesting is her use of a "Naughty Chair", a specific time-out location for a child to have a chance to pull himself together. i wanted to use a similar concept, but needed to put a more positive spin on it. and that birthed the God Chair.

the God Chair is where you go when you need a little time to yourself to think about what just happened, talk to God, ask forgiveness and pull yourself together before you rejoin the group. so i introduced this to the kids, explained that they might choose to sit in this chair themselves, or that a teacher might ask them to sit in this chair if they felt it was necessary. and no one needed to sit in the God Chair today. i honestly believe that their understanding of the immediate consequence was a major factor in the exceptionally good behavior.

i really wanted to get some camera-time in this weekend, but it just didn't happen. lack of time, lack of muse. oh well. can't rush creativity. i did, however, get a little scrapbooking time in. not much, but enough to expend some energy and have some quality me-time. and you know what? it felt great.

thinking on the small scale...

when i was little, my dad bought me a dollhouse kit and though we never finished it, we put quite a few hours into painting, cutting, gluing and puzzling over the plans. in fact, i'm regularly reminded that he's still storing it in his attic. (don't worry dad - i plan to reclaim it one day soon...)

i've always had a fascination with the miniature. i like kid versions of grown-up stuff - like the line of "power tools" and "home appliances" that sears sells called "my first craftsman tool" and "my first kenmore appliance". that's the kid in me. the kid that always wanted to grow up faster. (and in hindsight, probably grew up too soon anyway.)

and i love the detail invested in little things. tiny dressers with tiny drawers and tiny drawer-pulls. tiny teapots, painted with tiny flowers. it's something about my detail-oriented nature.

so just before christmas, i had this nagging urge to build a gingerbread house. not really having time for one more project, i never got around to it. but i did draw up plans - for a nearly-to-scale replica of our house, even. (there's that detail-oriented nature again.)

and then i ran across a blog tracking a collector's endeavor to recreate a historically accurate miniature depression-era home. the research required and the level of detail she invested in her dollhouse - handmaking the ornaments on the christmas tree (because that's what would've been done during the depression) using things only available at that time. and she told the story as she built the house. a bowl of candy on the coffee table wasn't just there because it looked good - "Mary", the home's "owner" (the doll, not the collector) - had used her war rations to buy a little candy this week because her nephew was coming to visit... it appeals to my interest in history.

so i've been thinking about taking on this kind of a project. no pressure to finish it, and really - i don't even have plans for it yet - i'm just musing. i don't know that i have time for it, but i am learning one thing about doing ministry: you are always doing ministry, unless you're purposely not doing ministry. so maybe a few hours here and there, lost in a fantasy world, wouldn't be such a bad thing.

guilt complex...

i'm feeling like the worst blogger ever. is it really too much to ask of myself to blog all of twice a week? i dunno.

super bowl was fun, but it was a challenging ministry day. we had a special event at church - a tailgate party after service - and during the kids service, we played football themed games, talked about our favorite teams, wore our favorite team colors, and handed out football prizes to the kids who brought friends. but there were a few kids who are like oil and water, and that meant a few altercations to break up. and one of my teachers was out sick with the flu (what is it with that awful bug this year!?), so we were a bit short staffed. i must admit, i left on sunday feeling fried and discouraged. but those days are bound to happen. luckily, there were enough "highs" to balance out the day's "lows".

finally got a new computer - a hand-me-down, but new to me. lighter, faster, more power (and a better operating system) than my old one. i'm so thrilled. it was just time. can't wait to proof a batch of photos and see how that bad boy performs. :)

i'm thinking about a site re-design... like i have all sorts of free time for that...

back...

from the living dead. i don't really know what got a hold of me - but after all that microbial warfare fun over christmas had finally passed, i came down with an ear infection. that passed within a few days (or so i thought), and then matt came down with the symptoms of a flu and a cold. at once. sure enough, three days later, i followed suit, spending all weekend on the couch waffling between being pretty sure i was going to die and begging the Lord to do away with me. (i'll admit, i'm a little dramatic when i'm sick.)

so that fun continued right on into the week. tried to go to work on monday, which lasted for all of 5 hours. went home, and stayed there until i finally mustered the courage to leave my little germ-shelter (or would that be "germy little shelter") and brave the outside world today.

i saw the doctor on wednesday and she didn't have much to tell me - except that she could see the ear infection and she gave me an antibiotic for it. it may be that i struggled to get rid of this cold/flu/thing so much because i was already dealing with the infection. she also gave me some highly overrated cough syrup with codeine which most certainly did not perform as promised.

so yeah - way more detail than you ever wanted to know, i'm sure. i gave canned goodies (apple butter, pear butter, pear sauce, etc) to our grandparents - all of them - for christmas, and i'm getting rave reviews. kinda surprised! i've even had very gentle ("i don't mean to sound greedy, but...") requests for more. i love that. :)

so now i have a whole sick-free (in theory) weekend to myself. we're going out with friends tonight, and i have some chores to catch up on, and a bunch of things to do before i go back to the kids at church on sunday. i miss them! being out last sunday left me mopey, and we even had more kids than usual that day. and of course, the super bowl is sunday. looking forward to playing football games with the kids and tailgating in the church parking lot. mmmm. bbq.

have a great weekend!

a few close calls...

well, the winter weather is really getting to me. perhaps if i could stay home all day, go for the occasional walk when the snow is falling magically at dusk, and not have to brave the icy roads, it would be acceptable - but life has to go on, and so the weather becomes something of a nuisance.

preface: sunday's objective in kids' church was "God will help me tell others about Jesus". the introduction to the day was to ask the kids to tell eachother as many things that they could think of that God had done for them, in one minute. perhaps i don't give them enough credit for recognizing God's work in the little things, but i didn't really think this would go over so well, so i had been praying that God would bring to my mind a situation that i could share with them how He was working in my life, to which they could relate.

ok, on with the story. sunday morning, we headed out the door early to go to starbucks before church. as i pulled out of the driveway, i mentioned that i didn't want to go to the nearest store because we'd have to go down (little) hills in every possible route, and i knew it was icy. matt convinced me that we'd be fine, so we headed out. sure enough, we got to a short but steep slope in the road and my back tires hit the ice and promptly took the car's tail down the side of the slope. i didn't know what else to do, so i steered the car in the direction i wanted it to go (what very little i remember about driving in dangerous conditions from driver's ed) and prayed out loud, asking God to put His hand on our vehicle and keep us from hitting that telephone pole that was quickly approaching my husband's side of the car. before my very eyes, despite the fact that we were still most definitely at a downhill angle, our car slowed to a stop, within about 6 inches of the telephone pole.

i told the kids that story and they were right on board. they were thankful and amazed, and it was so good for them (and me!) to see God working in a very real way. it spurred other stories of God helping them to find lost objects, lost pets, even stories of emotional and physical healing. i was so thankful that God took the time that morning to give me a real example to share with them. and i was quite amused that He would let us experience something so frightening to show us His power. it certainly wasn't the first time. (Mark 4:39 - "He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.")

my second "close call" was sans-vehicle. we received a few more inches of snow early yesterday morning and the trouble with such weather is that when things start to melt, there's never enough time for the dampness to dry before freezing temperatures come again. so, i knew there's be ice under all that snow. my walk to the bus-stop is all of 4 blocks, but our street is a gentle downward slope all the way down to the main road. in such weather, i usually walk in the snowy parts of the road, knowing i have more traction on snow than on ice. so i left the house, crossed our yard and got right out onto the shoulder of the street when the snow below my foot gave out against the slick ice below. i hit the ground harder than i've ever hit before, and smacked my head against the icy concrete (thank goodness there was a little snow to break my fall).

had it just been me, i'd have laid there a few minutes and gotten myself together before getting up - but my neighbor was out scraping his car and saw the whole thing. he made sure i was okay, but i hurt so bad i just wanted to cry, so i went directly back into the house (and cried!) the headache was the worst, but within minutes i could feel bruising across my tailbone. i was pretty sure i didn't have a concussion, though i did feel very sleepy almost immediately. with a little (okay, alot of) ibuprofen, the headache subsided, but the pain in my muscles intensified. holding my head up was (and is) a challenge! today, i feel like i was in a car accident - muscles that i can't believe were used in the 1-second fall to the ground are aching like they'd had an intense workout.

so, suffice it to say that i'm ready for spring... not only am i ready for a less-wintry clime, but i'm also salivating over the spring-y decorations in stores right now. ;)

such big changes...

so in the last month, we've been considering and planning for some big changes. i wanted to post about it at first, but had to keep the information to myself until it was final. by the time it was final, and i'd personally told everyone who i felt should get to hear the news straight from me, nearly two weeks had passed. then the holidays came up, and you know how it goes... it just didn't get posted. so, please forgive me.

in early december, matt & i were invited to the home of our dear friends - our church's children's pastor & his wife - for dinner. over dinner, they delivered some highly unexpected news, that through a series of events they had been called to another church, and that they would be leaving december 31st.

i wasted no time, immediately bursting into tears. i got a hold of myself as they told us the long story and it was so clear that God had His hand in it all. and then dan told us that he was recommending to the staff that i serve as his replacement.

and i burst into tears all over again.

that dinner lead us to a two hour interview/meeting with him and our lead pastor, which resulted in my immediate hire. on december 31st, i was introduced to our church as the Children's Ministry Director.

this is huge for me, and yet i hate to use such ineloquent words to describe it. i first felt called to ministry about 5 years ago, and immediately began pursuing the necessary education that could result in licensing within my denomination. a year ago, dan asked me if i would consider coming back to the kids church to teach. i was hesitant, but surprised that he had asked when i was already considering it. after quite a discussion, we realized that God could very well be at work in my life, so i joined his team of teachers.

and i've been thriving. the best thing about this ministry is that i have to depend on God to be successful. i need His patience and His joy and His love, because these are not qualities i possess on my own. since then, i've sensed that i was likely headed toward a position in children's ministry, but i also assumed it was a few years off.

that this kind of opportunity would arise and at this time in my life is amazing to me. i'm all of 11 days into this part-time position, and finding myself wanting to invest far more time than they've requested. i only pray that this energy and excitement would continue through my entire tenure with our church.

aside from the extra "work" {if you could call it that!}, this coincides with the {supposed} launch date of my photography business. because of the adjustment period required while i figure out how my time will be spent, i've decided to prolong the formal launch of my business, and i will probably be drastically altering my plan for operation. i'll post more as i make these decisions...

so, that's it. that's life, that's my news. i lay awake at night with ideas, it's constantly on my mind, and i'm so excited about the possibilities for the future. so glad i was finally able to share this with you.