I'm going to remember this...

A Christmas Version of 1 Corinthians 13 

As you prepare your heart and home for Christmas this year, consider the following words of wisdom and have Christ be the center and essence of your celebration. 

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another decorator. 

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not share the true meaning of Christmas, I'm just another cook. 

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not demonstrate kindness to strangers, it profits me nothing. 

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point. 

Love stops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband. Love is kind, though harried and tired. 

Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens. Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way. 

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't. 

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never fails. 

Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of love will endure.      -Author Unknown 

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13 

Scrap Etc. Creative Cafe

So, have you ever been to The Creative Cafe at Scrap Etc? If you haven't, you really should go. Really. I mean, for $2 - $4 you can make some of the cutest little projects you've ever seen! In December you can make Christmas decorations, gift card holders, ornaments, and even a mini-album. All you have to do is check the blog and come to the store on the dates listed. 

Can't make it? Call or email me and I'll pick up a kit for you. You can pay me back later. And I'll even enter your name into the prize drawing at the store. If you win, you can thank me later :)

See you there! 

So thankful

Just a few of the reasons I am thankful today (not in any particular order... just the way my random mind thinks of them!):

1. I get to be a wife

2. I get to be a mom

3. Brad doesn't complain that the house is a wreck most of the time.

4. Bennett doesn't complain that I don't cook all that much.

5. Our dog is always excited for me to come home.

6. Our cat is purring on my lap as I type (and not biting me :)

7. Ice cream

8. The gym :)

9. Partners to work out with me to keep me honest and motivated.

10. Our church

11. Living Waters Sunday School

12. My Bible Study girls

13. The kindergartners in my choir

14. The Office

15. Book Club

16. My mom 

17. My sis

18. Chap Stick

19. Hondas

20. Scrapbooking

21. Sales - good ones!

22. Static guard

23. Hand Sanitzer

24. Turkey

25. Rudolph the red nosed reindeer

26. Twlight - the books.

27. Cameras

28. Bennett's hugs

29. Brad's love for trying new things

30. Bennett's teacher

31. Email

32. Crops

33. Colored Christmas lights

34. Icees

35. Soft claws

36. My grandfather

37. My dad

38. Brad's parents

39. remote controls

40. cell phones

41. The silence button on the cell phone

42. The fact that Brad doesn't care about football

43. The Christmas tree is up

44. The blow-up Santa and reindeer in the front yard

45. Dyson vacuums

46. Simona, who cleans the house once every other week.

47. Those special pens that I LOVE to write with

48. Coach purses

49. Comfy shoes

50. Cold water to drink

51. Friends who stand by me no matter what - you know who you are :)

52. Yard sales

53. My Silpada earrings that dangle. so cute

54. Bennett's excitement about learning.

55. Bennett's singing.

56. Charlie Brown - and listening to Bennett laugh so hysterically.

57. Laptop computers with wi-fi

58. DVRs

59. Scrapbooking magazines

60. Chick-fil-a

61. Cereal

62. Ebay

63. Fall leaves

64. Pictures that remind me of EXACTLY how I was feeling in that moment

65. recycling

66. Our under-cabinet lights

67. The bug man (our exterminator)

68. Traditions

69. Bobbi Brown (cosmetics!) :)

70. Hobby Lobby

71. Amazon.com

72. Grace

73. Beth Moore

74. Facebook

75. Praise music

76. Dishwashers

77. The sound of rain when I'm sleeping

78. Clean sheets

79. Aveeno sun screen

80. Sandestin

81. Walt Disney World

82. Online bill payment

83. Our financial guy

84. Shutterfly

85. Publix

86. Coupons

87. Cool weather

88. Christmas

89. Playing Go Fish with Bennett

90. Date nights

91. My travel hair dryer - why don't I get one for home too?

92. Good health

92. The ability to stay at home (even with Bennett in school)

93. Cheese

94. Lay's Baked Ruffles chips

95. Twix

96. Raisinettes

97. Surprises

98. Coke zero

99. CAbi jeans

100. Hydrangeas

Some things are big. Some are little. Some I hardly ever think of as something to be thankful for. But I am thankful. And I praise God for giving me each and every thing on the list - and the 1000's of other things I could name. I am so blessed. Blessed beyond anything I could ever deserve.

I hope you are feeling thankful too today! Happy Thanksgiving! Love, amy

You win some and you lose some.

And tonight, I lost $10.25 and 2 hours of my life on a terrible movie. A movie that I had waited for for quite a while. A movie whose books were the best I've read in a long long time. Maybe ever. Books that made me ignore my household duties and sometimes even my child. Twilight.

Now, I know that some have said that the movie was great. I've even heard some say that they want to watch it upwards of 6 times in the next day or 2. Not me. I have to be honest. 

They left out SO much. And yes, I know that they had to leave some stuff out - it was a long book. But why did they add junk - like a field trip and the diner. They left out so much of the personal stuff between Bella and her high school friends. They moved to quick into the Bella/Edward love story. Just not right.

And the 'special' effects?? Come on. The 'spider-monkey'? The spinning legs? The 'flying' through the air? The sparkly skin? He just looked furry. And that wasn't what the Cullens' house looked like. Or Charlie's. Or the high school. And since when was Forks the epitome of cultural diversity? I never knew. 

I'm going to re-read the book now. It's late, but I have to try to get back some of what they ruined. Not that I'll ever get that $10.25 back. Or that 2 hours of my life. Just read the book - and be happy with your imagination. That's my advice. And that's free :)

He prays.

So, for the past few months Bennett has been praying for very specific things. Every night. The same things. And if he says the first part (which is the memorized prayer), then he gives me specific instructions so that I can pray for the things on the list.

Most of this started when the fire and tornado drills began at school. Bennett's obsession with fire safety was born and we had to turn off every light, appliance, check the smoke alarms, at be on the look-out for smoke at all times. It really was a worrisome couple of weeks - Bennett was super 'concerned' about fires. Any beeping noise - even the faintest microwave beep - produced questions like 'Was that a fire alarm?' Brad even turned on the fire alarm in the house to prove how loud it was and un-missable it is. All it did was hurt our ears - the obsession continued.

So, we prayed. He prayed, mostly. He prayed for God to keep us safe from fires. We prayed that if there was a fire, that we would know what to do and asked Him to watch over us throughout the night.

As you can imagine, the tornado drills produced similar fears - and we prayed that God would keep tornados, hurricanes, and even earthquakes away from our house. I smiled with Bennett prayed 'Please Lord, if those things have to come here, please keep them at the bottom of the hill'.

The next drill that was introduced was the intruder drill. I am sad that we even have to have these drills, but we do. And the kids hide quietly in the closet. And Bennett started praying for God to keep the robbers, thieves, and burglars away from our house. And one night a few weeks ago I smiled as Bennett prayed 'Dear Lord, please let all the robbers, thieves, and burglars already be asleep so that we will be safe tonight.' Smart boy. If they're asleep, they can't rob us :)

One night along the way he started using the word 'calamity'. Every night he prays (or instructs me to pray) just like this:

Dear Lord, Thank you for this beautiful day. Lord, please protect us from any calamities like tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, robbers, thieves, or burglars. Please, Lord, if these things happen here, keep us safe. Please give me good dreams tonight. Not bad ones. Just good ones. and Thank you, Lord for sending your son to die on the cross. I love you Lord. Amen.

And every night I am sure that God hears those prayers. And I bet he smiles like I do :)

And, just tonight, as I went to pick Bennett up from Bible Blitz at church he was on the stage and he was going to pray for the whole assembly. God humbled me because my heart was proud. I was feeling proud that Bennett was going to pray. So this is what he prayed:

Dear Lord, Thank you for this beautiful day today. And Lord, um, Lord, well, uh, please, uh, Lord, Please don't let my cat get fleas ever again. Amen.

Fleas. Hmmm. And again I smiled. Laughed a little, to be honest. And I bet God did too :) What a sweet boy. Just the fact that he talks to God about the big and the little things is an answer to my prayers.

Oh, and I checked and Roger doesn't have fleas. And he hasn't for the last 6 weeks. Thank you God! 

Now I'm going to pray and thank God for my little boy. My little boy who reminds me how to talk to God. And again, I'm thankful. So thankful.

I've been tagged...

so you get to find out 6 random (& mostly strange) things about me. Aren't you glad you came to my blog today? :) You can thank Katie for taggin' me!! 

So here we go... please promise that you won't think I'm too crazy when you get done!!

1. I am a germaphobe. If I touch anything in any public place I MUST use hand sanitizer when I get in the car (or of course before I eat). I pass out 'soap' to anyone in the car with me or at the table with me. I do not touch public restroom door handles, faucet handles, or paper towel knobs after I have washed my hands. And if I find myself in one of those ridiculously disgusting bathrooms that don't have papertowels... well, then I get out the hand sanitizer ASAP. And yet, somehow, I survived fishing my sunglasses out of the toilet at the zoo.  Go figure. Oh, and yes, I have passed this on to my child.

2. I hate the feeling of my feet being wet on a tile floor.

3. I clean the hair out of my brush every day. And if you don't, well that kinda grosses me out. Just ask Laci.

4. I can't fall asleep unless I am facing the side of the bed that I am closest to. Can't face the middle. Doesn't matter what side I am on, but I have to face out.

5. I've never owned a car that is not a grey or silver Honda. '85 grey civic hatchback. '99 silver civic. '03 silver odyssey. I don't plan on owning breaking the trend :)

6. I love it when my dirty clothes hamper is totally empty. And I kinda hate it when I have to put the first thing in it. I guess it means more work to be done.

Ok, so there you have it. Six of the random things about me. There are many more, but I'll spare you (until I get tagged again!!)

I have tons of photos that I need to post including the projects that I worked on at Wrapper's Delight. Maybe tonight. Or tomorrow. 

Yard sale tomorrow at Meg's house! I have tons of toys that I bought last year on clearance at Target (to sell on ebay, but never got around to it!). If they don't sell, I'm promising to sell them on ebay next week. If I type it, then I HAVE to do it, right? :)

Have a good weekend!

Super giveaway!!

Did you know that there is a giveaway in your future? Yup, there is!  Just check out the Scripts blog right here...Scripts Blog

I just joined Scripts (Scrap Etc's kit club), and although I am supposed to be saving November and December's kits for Christmas (that is what I told Brad I would do...) I'm not sure that I'll be able to wait!! Have you seen what is in the kit for November!!!  Wowee :)

So, check it out. You won't be sorry!