.A Picture of a Pastor's Wife.

I have officially been a pastor's wife for going on four months now. I am feeling my way through this new role in my life added to my other roles of wife, mommy, and homemaker. I am learning and growing everyday, and God's grace and patience is ever present.

One thing that has not changed is that I continue to be my husband's help meet, my husband's biggest supporter - his number one fan. I think that is vital in his role as a Pastor and my role as his wife. But you know what? This was vital before I became a pastor's wife - it is vital for every wife living out her biblical mandate.

It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Genesis 2:18

As a pastor's wife, I continue to cheer Jim along. I continue to keep our home and try to make it a place of respite - a calm oasis that he can walk into each evening. I take very seriously my role of homemaking, and I try to pour my heart into it. When I do that, when I see it as a ministry, I find great joy in keeping a home.

I am learning that I have to really guard our family time. It was something I practiced in our last ministry, but it has become just as vital in this new ministry. I try to protect Mondays - that is our family day. We have never had a specific family day before. At camp things always came up at the last minute, and we could never be guaranteed any plans. It is so wonderful knowing that we will always have Mondays together. So I wrap my arms around Mondays and guard that time as a family.

My ministry may not be what others deem the picture of a perfect pastor's wife. I try to be okay with that. Right now I do not have a specific ministry in the church, because, even though I am now the wife of a pastor, my primary ministry has not changed - I am a wife to my husband, a mommy to my children, and keeper of my home. Those are three very BIG ministries, and if I want to do them well and biblically, and I do, then those are the ministries I must focus on in this phase of my life. Down the road when my children are older, God will open up doors for me to serve in more tangible ways. The wonderful thing is that for the most part, this is completely understood and accepted by our church family. There was so much pressure in our camp ministry - and I am the first to admit probably mostly internal - for me to get more and more involved with the ministry. I lived with so much guilt. Guilt that I could not put my best into anything - not into camp and not into Jim, my children, and my home. It weighed on my heart heavily. It is such a blessing to not feel this anymore - to be able to breathe and enjoy this precious time. This ministry is what I was created for at this time in my life, and I am so fulfilled.

God is really working in my heart in the area of hospitality. I will be writing a whole series on this for Raising Homemakers, so I will not go into detail now. I will let you wait and read it there. I think this is the biggest area of our life that is changing with Jim in the pastorate. It has been exciting and a little intimidating for me!

So what does a pastor's wife look like?



She does not look much different from any other wife striving to live out her roles in a God-honoring way.

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.Fears & Answers.

Being a child of God should not be characterized by fearful slavery.



Can I be honest friends?

I struggle with that. I really struggle with fear. At times, my life is characterized by fear, and I don't want that to be true of me. God doesn't desire that for me either. To some, our journey to Ethiopia looks brave (to others foolish). But there is really nothing brave about me, and today the enemy is doing a really good job of putting that front and center in my mind. Making me question our sanity. Making me question my God.

His laugh is almost audible. Where is the money going to come from? The father of lies mocks. What are people saying? How dare you ask for people to gift you with money. This is your decision - you need to back it up. He sneers. How will you bring up a black child in a small white community? Everyone is laughing at you guys. Your decisions look foolish to others. Even those you love don't understand why you are doing this. This will never work. What if this child you adopt grows up wishing he or she were never a part of your family? What if Cadi and Scotty grow up resenting this child? He jeers. You will never measure up as a mom.

My emotions were all over the place late this morning. I am not sure what set me off. It doesn't really matter, I suppose. The whisperings were almost more than I could take. Where was that Voice of Truth? All I could taste was fear. I put my children to nap early, and cried out to God while clinging to my Bible, sobbing and shaking with the turmoil of fear raging in my mind. I poured through my Bible desperate to read everything I could about overcoming fear. I copied verse after verse into my journal and prayed through the verses I found. The one that I am clinging to the most still now as I sit here, a bit calmer, with a gentler beating heart and my mug of strawberry tea is Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as [children], by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”



I am not going to delve much into that verse here right now. But the knowledge that I can cry out to the God of all Creation as Daddy is like soothing balm to my scared heart, and the reminder of how much God loves adoption blew in like fresh air over my parched soul.

I know that this is the path that God has called us to. I know that what I am fearful of are mostly lies. I know He has chosen us for the ministry of adoption. I know the time is now. Yet, I am scared, but as a wise friend wrote to me a few weeks back do this for the little Ethiopian life who needs you. I cannot explain this, and maybe one can only understand this if he or she has walked this journey we are on, but that Ethiopian life is my child. I have a child who needs me. How can we not proceed with this? How can we not do everything possible to get to our child and bring our child home? This is no different to us than if Cadi or Scotty were trapped in Ethiopia, as I already mentioned. It weighs on my heart just that heavy. My arms ache to hold my baby, and our home is filled with such anticipation, such expectation. I think that with as much as God loves adoption, Satan must really hate it. That has been very evident to me lately.

And on a lighter note....{hopefully}

Here are some answers to your questions - both ones you asked and ones you wanted to ask! {grin}

Why Ethiopia? There are children right here in the US that need homes, so why did you choose to adopt internationally?

I want to be very clear and careful in how I answer this. I think there are needy children, needy orphans all over the world. I don't think one place is better to adopt from than another. We chose Ethiopia, because God literally kept bringing Ethiopia into our path - every time we talked about and sought out adoption we stared at the country of Ethiopia. I couldn't get those sweet faces out of my mind, out of my heart. I knew that an Ethiopian face was missing from our family photo albums. Then when we found out the need for Ethiopia was so, so great, there was just no denying where God was leading our family - Ethiopia. We did not consider finances in our decision. Yes, there are less expensive places to adopt from ( more expensive, too, though!). It's just that God shared with us that our child was in Ethiopia. Again a bit hard to explain probably, unless you have walked this road.

How long of a process is this adoption?
We are looking at a long road probably. While some in the Ethiopia program have adopted in as little as 10 months, we are probably looking at closer to 18-24 months. What Jim and I can conclude about the time line is that a lot of it is dependent on how quickly we can get the money in and the paperwork completed. Since we are just on the first step, we have a ways to go.

How much is this costing you?
I struggled with whether or not to answer this specifically, but I will. I want this to be a resource for other families looking to adopt, and I want God to be glorified in this. Because without Him, we just don't have the money. The whole adoption process will cost us around $30,000. Jim doesn't make much more than that in a year, but God knows that, and He has a plan.

What agency are you using?
We did quite a bit of research when choosing an agency. We finally settled on a Christian agency that holds to much of our same beliefs. We are really excited to be working with America World Adoption Association.
It was important to us to be able to do our home study under a Christian social worker. This will be the case with our agency.

How old will the child be that you adopt?
We have requested a child under 12 months. With having to travel to Ethiopia twice, I am thinking our baby will end up being closer to twelve months than to a newborn.

Did you specify a gender?
On our application we did not specify a gender. However, God seems to be placing a boy on our hearts, so Jim and I are earnestly seeking God on this matter.

Are you going to adopt debt free?
That is our honest desire. We are praying and believing that way. However, if it comes down to having to take out a loan or not rescue our child, we will without a doubt take out a loan. There is no question that God has a heart for orphans, though, and we are praying that He moves mountains for us.

What can I do to be a part of your journey?
I am humbled and reduced to tears with the outpouring of love and generosity from people. I am amazed by the amount of "strangers" - you my bloggy friends- who have reached out to us, who have emailed us, who have purchased coffee and spread our story around the internet, who have encouraged us. I have been so blessed by the body of Christ. What we really need is prayer. And beyond that, it is up to whatever God lays on your heart. We have the coffee fundraiser if you like coffee and usually buy it anyway that might interest your family. We will have t-shirts for sale soon. We hope these t-shirts spread adoption awareness. We also have the chip-in feature at the top right of my blog, if you feel led to just donate money. This is safe and secure and goes through paypal. I was reduced to tears yesterday, when I saw that a family donated $10 - a family who does not have an extra $10 to donate. They sacrificed on the behalf of our child, and I am so humbled.

We will also be hosting an adoption benefit yard sale on Saturday, May 28th and Monday, May31st - Memorial Day. We are requesting items to be donated to sell if you feel led and live in our area. You can email me at amomentcherished(at)gmail(dot)com with questions.

But mostly we ask you to pray. We are praying specifically for a few hundred dollars to be able to accomplish the first step of this process and get the ball rolling. I apologize now if my blog becomes very adoption focused. This blog is my memory book. I don't want to forget a moment of this journey.Thank you for being a part of this.

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.I Would Rather.

I would rather....

cook than bake

read than watch TV

sleep when it is hot than when it is cold

text than talk on the phone

load the dishwasher than unload it

spend time with my children than time with adults

go to the dentist than to the doctor

have music playing than have a completely quiet home

get up early than go to bed late

soak up the sun on a beach than at a pool

eat shrimp than beef

read three books simultaneously than one book at a time

clean the bathroom than clean my floors

be with my family at home than be with anyone else anywhere else

drink coffee than drink soda

be a mommy than a career woman

live without my computer than live without my camera

shop for shoes than for jeans

I would rather be the woman God created me to be than be anybody else.

How about you?





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.Sucked in.

Sorry friends, I have been sucked in by spring cleaning. I mean MAJOR spring cleaning - like I have never done before.

God is also doing some MAJOR cleaning in my heart - like He has never done before.

My blog may be vacant for a bit.

My apologies.

.Just Thinking.

When spring blows in so does my creativity. I have more energy, and I get an urgent need to create. My friend Theresa and I will be creating fancy camera straps this Tuesday for our cameras. I am so excited about that and picked out my pretty fabric on Saturday. Although her mad sewing skills will no doubt put me to shame! HA!

Maybe those window treatments for my kitchen will actually get sewn this spring.

Maybe.

I am even thinking about more creative things to do with my blog. That is one of the reasons I love blogging. I have an excuse everyday to create with my words or photos on this blank slate.

I was just thinking about giving another vlog post a try. This time I will use my Cadi as well, and I will demonstrate how we work together in the kitchen by baking a recipe on camera. I have gotten a lot of questions regarding how to incorporate little girls into the kitchen. I keep thinking that might be a nice post to save for the Raising Homemakers blog, though.

I have also been thinking of posting a challenge for myself and other interested women - a challenge to turn off the computer and all things computer related - blogs, email, twitter, facebook, etc. for one week, and really just live in the moment with our children. I was just thinking of calling it "Turn off and Tune in".

And then I have been thinking about redoing my photography site. {bleck} I need to update photos there at least. The site is pretty cheesy right now (although I love my song), and doesn't really "say" what I desire for it to. And I have toyed around with creating a blog entirely for my photography. But honestly, do I need another blog - between A Moment Cherished, and writing for Raising Homemakers, and my Frozen Moments face book page and website??? I think I am pretty busy, and those things mentioned should be enough of an outlet for my creativity.

And speaking of photography. Mmmm....I have been dreaming. I really, at this point anyway, do not want it to be anything besides just a little side business. It can not distract from my family. Jim and I have been discussing ways to make it work, because I truly am passionate about freezing moments for other families. However, I am not as passionate about that as I am about my own family. {grin} I have been thinking about starting some senior shoots. I really like photographing children, but I think seniors could be fun.

Oh, and talk about cheesy. Check out Scotty! This is what he has been doing everytime I get the camera out the past few days! He squeezes his eyes shut so tightly and grins in such a way that his whole body shakes! Hilarious!



Photo credit goes to my husband for this capture! Can anyone tell me where the rest of my 20 month old's teeth are?!

With all of this creativity burning inside of me, I also have this HUGE desire to accomplish a goal that I set forth for myself for this year - organize and declutter EVERY bit of this house! Been working on the childrens' rooms and switching over their wardrobe to summer. I can NOT believe for the first time in their lives I will be putting their summer clothes into their own dressers not suitcases to take to camp! So strange.

Well, I have got to do something with this energy. I think I will attack our bedroom. I have a vision....

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.The Thrill of Thrifting a Vlog.

I am a little apprehensive about bringing you my first vlog post, as I am much better in writing than in person! However, I really wanted to show you some of the great finds I purchased while thrifting yesterday. (Also I have really enjoyed viewing other women's vlogs. It just feels so personal!)

Yes, that is my real voice on the video.

Yes, it is tiny and squeaky.

No, I do not have a cold.

Just wanted to clear that up. {grin} And don't mind the crazy hair - it's been a crazy day!



Sorry about the crooked camera - I am not so great at videography!

.Ultimate Blog Party.

I saw this floating around the bloggy world the past few days, and I figured that I would join the party, too!

It is such a privilege to have you visit my blog today. I am always amazed by the encouraging words and comments and emails that I receive from my bloggy friends. I didn't purpose my blog for that reason, but it has certainly been an unexpected "cherry on top". I write because I was created to. I love words. I love manipulating words into a story, or putting words together to preserve a moment cherished or special memory. Written words invoke passion and emotion in me. I love to to read other women's blogs, and I have received countless blessings and been convicted to draw closer to my Savior because of beautiful words written by bloggers like you.

The person behind A Moment Cherished is just an ordinary Mommy, living an ordinary life, but serving an extraordinary God. I am beyond blessed to stay at home with my two beautiful children.



Not every day is perfect, but every day is a blessing when I purpose to see it that way. I am a new homeschooling mommy, and I am passionate about this role. I am also passionate about homemaking and raising a daughter who delights in that lost art as well. I am blessed to be the wife of an amazing and godly (and funny to boot!) man, who has recently been called into the pastoral ministry. Our world has been rocked upside down and God is molding me into this new role as a Pastor's wife. I take my role seriously, and am thankful for the privilege to be in it.

Please feel free to browse my blog, and get to know my heart a bit better. My prayer is that my words might bless and encourage just a few of you today. If you like what you read here, I would love to count you as a friend, so feel free to subscribe and follow me! Please leave me a link to your blog, too, as I would love to stop by for a visit.

My prayer is that God would continue to use my tiny spot in the blog-o-sphere as a ministry for His honor and glory. Have a lovely day, and thanks for taking a few moments out of yours to spend with me!

.Let's Be Honest.

Okay I must be honest for a moment.

I {really} have been enjoying getting acclimated to Jim's new position as a Pastor. And I am learning it is so much more than a new position, or a new ministry.

It is a way of life.

And I am loving it.

I am learning so very much. I am learning to open my home on a moment's notice. Something that I have never ever been good at. (Have I mentioned before how much I love order and routine and knowing what will happen ahead of time?! ha!) But truly God is chiseling away at me. He is working on my hospitality, my priorities, my pride, oh how He is working!

Our Pastor's wife (We have two pastors at our church - Jim is one. He is the Associate Pastor.) gave me such wise counsel shortly before Jim was hired. She told me to be ready to just let Jim go and minister. I didn't really "get it" when she told me that, but after three short weeks in this ministry I am getting it. I also realize what wisdom was in her words. She has taken me under her wings and has helped me immensely as I feel out this new path before us.

That is {part of} why I have not written any posts in a long time.

The other reason is more foolish.

Awhile back I wrote a post that I was and am very passionate about. I do not regret anything that I wrote, as I have read it and reread it. But I learned that the particular post was misunderstood and misinterpreted to mean something that I was not intending. And it kind of knocked the wind out of my sails. My husband read the post in question and supported my position 100% and did not see a problem with it. But I have just been hesitant to write anything. My skin is not thick. I do not like stirring up controversy. {bleck}

Even now I hesitate to push publish. I have stated and restated that this blog is for me, for me to cherish the moments and preserve the memories of my young family. Along the way I have gathered a handful of dear, sweet readers who amazingly God has allowed my words to encourage their hearts. It is humbling and exciting, because for as long as I could write my letters I have wanted to write and impact people. I always thought I would publish a book, and I even tried a few times. However, God has shown me the past few months that my platform with writing for now is my blog, and I love that. It just hurt to be misunderstood, but I need to get a backbone because that is part of this bit. Is it not?

Mondays are our family day now. I love that. Yesterday we drove to see Jim's parents and stopped at a few thrift stores along the way. Jim and I had a nice chance to talk during our travels. He encouraged me to keep blogging. He feels that it is an important ministry that I have. Maybe he is right. I pray God can use me despite me.

So in being honest, I had my feelings hurt. I sulked for a bit, but I am back. I'm not giving up.

Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

.I'm {Not} Perfect.

....but I sure do like people to think that I am.

Wow. That is really hard to admit. It is something that I have battled with for a long time. In trying to be more authentic though, both on my blog and in real life - let me tell you the real life bit is really hard - I need to write this post.

This morning during my quiet time I was studying the book of Esther. I have been on a forever long journey through this teeny book of the Bible. I am working through Beth Moore's Bible Study Esther:It's Tough Being a Women. I started it this summer, but found it too in-depth to really put the time into it that I needed to while ministering at camp. So I had to restart a lot of it this fall to really get out of it what I wanted to, and at that I have taken it very slowly and mixed in other things into my quiet time. I tend to be very eclectic like that when it comes to reading of any kind. I like reading a few novels at once, and that is the same for even Bible studies I find. I probably really should focus on just one thing.

Back to this morning. I was reading chapter five, where after fasting and praying, Esther dresses in her royal gown to illegally go before her husband the king in order to beseech him not to kill the Jewish people and to reveal Haman's wickedness. I am sure you are familiar with the story. I thought I was, but am realizing I only knew the water-downed Sunday Schoolish, veggie tales story of Esther. It is so much more than that, and I urge you to study it on your own. Beth Moore so wisely brought up the point that

Esther did what she needed to do, clearly the will of God, but not as one perfectly collected and confident. pg. 112

(She came to this conclusion through study of some of the Hebrew words and context.)

I am going to continue to quote directly from Beth Moore. As I read these words my heart quickened and pulse raced.

Beloved do we believe that the only way to do something acceptably is to do it perfectly? Sometimes God is more aware than we of just how much He requires of us. He knows how hard it's going to be for us. pg. 112

Do you struggle with perfectionism and perhaps could use a little ministry? Do you feel if you can't do something to perfection, you ought not to bother? Do you frequently feel pressure to perform tasks that will result in applause? When you blow it, do you wait a long time before trying again? Do you feel the need to always make an 'A'? pg.112

Beth might as well have just written those words directly to me. She went on to say how we should indeed always give and do our best, but that doesn't mean perfection and just because it is not perfect does not mean that God is not pleased with our performance. Phew. Really? So God really is more concerned with our heart than how we perform and appear. Why is this so hard for me to comprehend? Why do I continue to seek the approval of people rather than God?

I am not a very open person, which may come as a surprise to anyone who has followed my blog for awhile. But my blog is {mostly} candy coated, along with my tweets, my facebook statuses, and if you talk to me in person that is usually the Tiffany I present. If I actually do admit to you in person that I am having a bad day or a rough time, you can pretty much count yourself as a forever friend. I just don't do that. I am going out on a limb here, though.

My house is not always tidy.

My children are not always dressed perfectly.

My make up is not always on or my hair done.

I don't always cook nutritious and healthy meals for my family.

My mothering is not always godly.

My marriage is not always Christ-centered.

But I want you to think that it is.

I am trying to learn to just be me, whoever she is, to do my best, to give my best and do it all for the glory of God. I know I am going to fail. I fail every single day. I think it is time to be more honest about those failures. I like to think of myself as a positive person and I really do see the sunshine in things quite often. However, if I am being honest with myself and not feeling sunshiny or seeing rose colors; I don't want to pretend just to make myself look better.

The masquerade of perfectionism gets old.

I have lost friends over this, because I simply cannot live up to and be the perfect friend and the perfect mommy and the perfect wife - something always has to give. Of course it is not going to be my children or my husband, so it's friendships. I have tried to live up to perfectionism - or what I think is perfect, and I have gotten burned out. So I have sadly had to start over. I am really truly working on authentic relationships in my life.

I am taking off the mask.

And I am scared.

.So not in the Mood.

I woke up in a mood this morning. I thought maybe it was because yesterday we spent the day at camp, and I made 22 dozen cinnamon buns. I was tired and hadn't been feeling well, and I really dislike when our schedule gets thrown off. Especially when it gets thrown off smack dab in the middle of the week. So I had catch-up to do this morning - yesterday's laundry, tidying, and the normal morning stuff. Plus Jim had to leave for work extra early, so that meant no hot breakfast and consequently no coffee either. So that alone could put me in a bad mood, but that wasn't it either. I just couldn't put my finger on the bear inside of me. I was so not in the mood to get dressed this morning, or dress my children, or even do school with Cadi. We actually ended up starting pretty late today.

It took me all morning to figure out that what I really was and am so not in the mood to do is to turn thirty tomorrow. It may seem ridiculous to some, but I have seriously been dreading this birthday since I was sixteen. And I really cannot tell you why. I just don't want to do it. I don't want to admit to anyone that I am no longer a twenty something. And it has little to do with vanity, although the crows feet are a little disturbing. It is not because I am afraid of dieing really either. Although the thought isn't all that pleasant, mostly the dieing process, however, I do know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will spend eternity in heaven. It's not that I thought my life would be better or different either. I feel so blessed with my life. I love staying at home with my children. I {mostly} love cleaning my home. (Okay, okay, I confess I do not love washing my windows. It is the one thing that I do very poorly at. I actually have not washed any of my windows since the first snow when we made snowflakes and taped them all over the windows. Was that a month ago?!) I love cooking and grocery shopping. I love schooling Cadi, watching every milestone and being a very big part in her education. I love the snuggles and giggles with my little Prescott. I still cannot believe that I am a mommy to both a girl and a boy! I feel very privileged to be Jim's wife and a mommy to his children. I have no regrets with our decision to prioritize family and the knowledge that my primary ministry is at home and in the home while my children are here with us is freeing not restraining. I am not afraid to put my family and their needs first before anyone else on this earth, and I {mostly} do not care what other people think about that or say about that.

I think the struggle is all internal. Maybe I thought I would be more confident. Although Jim and I have recently talked about how I am much more comfortable in my own skin than I was even a few years back. Maybe I thought I would be more social by now, but I have come to accept that that is just not me. I am gifted in other areas, and I was never meant to be a "social butterfly". Maybe I thought I would be wiser, prettier, thinner, godlier, more gracious, more loving. Maybe I thought I would have a book published by now, but have found a different outlet in blogging and journaling and a new passion in photography. I really don't know what the big deal is with turning thirty. Maybe it's just the number.

I tend to be {mostly} upbeat and positive with my blog. I want to live my life this way. I have so much to be thankful for, and I do not like to major on the minors. I cannot stand grumbling and complaining in others, so I try not to be hypocritical and grumble and complain myself. But I have also learned over the years that people identify with and long for authenticity, so here it is from me. It's not always easy for me to be transparent. I do not like others to see the flaws or the raw version of Tiffany. I like to edit. I edit my photography before presenting it much like I edit myself. But having said all that I am sitting here exposed and letting you know that my true, authentic self is so not in the mood to turn thirty tomorrow.

Ladies...Preheat Your Ovens!

Tomorrow I am sharing some great fall recipes - comfort, food, comfort food, comfort food! I am really into whole food/ natural eating, but sometimes this is what I cook and bake. And it is okay. Everything in moderation, right?!



BBQ Pork
Whole Wheat Bread
Pumpkin Chili
Apple Pie
Freezer Mashed Potatoes (not pictured)


I am still catching up from a very busy weekend. Jim's sister and her family flew in from Florida to surprise Jim's parents. We were in on the covert op, and we picked their family up at the airport. After a weekend of eating way too much food and all staying in Jim's parent's home enjoying one anothers company, it is back to "normal" life. It has been a rough start to the week, but we are getting there!


Cadi really enjoyed time with her cousins. I was never close with any of my cousins, so this is a treat for me. This was taken on Saturday at a local pumpkin farm that we visited.

We walked into the gift store at the pumpkin farm, and my eyes immediately fell on an antique coca cola crate. I have been looking for one for months. I immediately resorted to toddler tactics, tugged on my Hubby's shirt, and nearly begged him to buy it for me as a early birthday gift.

He obliged. Doesn't it fit right in?


It's just perfect to display and organize all of my tea bags.

My hubby really "gets" my decorating style. He found this antique tool box for me this summer. It fits so perfectly in the weird space over my sink.



And the summer before he got me this antique bread maker. I feel really blessed that Jim takes such an interest in my interests. These are just a few of the items that he has collected for me.



So I received the honest scrap award again today from Melissa Thank you Melissa, that is so kind of you! If you get a chance check out her sweet blog! She has such a sincere heart and shares God's awesome faithfulness in an incredible way in her blog!

I am not going to go through and elect any blog again. (Although I do follow a ton and really love so many of them! I am just far too tired tonight!)

But I will try to think of ten more honest things about me. (I like reading other peoples, so maybe that is true of you?!)

1. I love, love, love to read.

2. I am afraid of the dark.

3. I love staying at home, and really don't mind if it is for days on end.

4. I cannot wait for our first really big snowfall!

5. I am addicted to coffee - Starbucks, black - thank you! {grin}

6. I love to write, especially on paper. Typing is not the same.

7. I slept with a blankie into the first year of my marriage.

8. My hubby was my first and only boyfriend, and he was my first kiss.

9. I love Elvis Presley, and I wanted to name Scotty, Presley.

10. I did not want any more children after a scary birth experience with Cadi, but now I want a houseful, and fear I have waited too long.

Even though I am not passing this on, please share ten things about yourself, but leave a comment and let me know that you did! That way I can come read them! {grin}

See you tomorrow - don't forget your apron!

.New Cut & Low Lights.

Wordless Wednesday

Brain Sprain

Ever since I started this blog I have had major writer's block. I usually have a lot to write about and can think of something pretty easily. I have started about three different posts and deleted them. I have thought about writing about photography or introducing you to my ministry. I have thought about writing about the movie I went to see last night and the disappointment I felt over the changed ending from the book. I have thought about writing about my children, my husband, my friends, but once I sit here I draw a blank. Granted I have had very little time to actually sit in front of my computer. I usually do not blog much at all during the summer being that we all move out of our home and into a summer camp. This summer the camp finally got high speed internet rather than dial-up, so I thought blogging would be a breeze and a much needed outlet for me. My husband's ministry at the camp is very time intense. Therefore I take on a little more responsibility with the children, plus try to help him, so free time is pretty nonexistent. Although, this summer I am trying to make it more of a priority. I just really need a little time alone everyday. I am much more of an introvert than an extrovert, and while I do love the people we minister with and the campers we have, sometimes I feel a little "over-stimulated" by it all. So maybe that is why I am drawing a blank as far as blogging lately. Maybe I have a brain sprain from interacting with so many people on a daily basis. During the fall, winter, and early spring I hole up alone in my home with my children. I lock the doors and ignore the phone and outside world. It is a beautiful thing. Anyway, instead of rambling on about nothing, I am going to go find my hubby and see what is next on the agenda for tonight. I actually think this was pretty therapeutic - taking ten minutes to write about nothing. Maybe I will feel more inspired later, and if not my blog will patiently wait me out until the fall.

Who am I?

I am . . . .

serious but giggly

analytical but illogical

health conscious but comfort food craver

creative but cautious

quiet but wordy

sensitive but cynical

a mommy but a wife

a runner but not athletic

a deep thinker but reluctant speaker

a lover of music but not at all musical

an elementary teacher but I don't teach in a school

disciplined but scatterbrained

neat minded but unorganized

a coffee lover but a soda hater

I am just a sinner, but I am saved by His grace.

Well, I guess I have been tagged. So, here are six random facts about myself:

1. I have an obsession with the color pink, but my favorite color is green.

2. I am afraid of the dark.

3. I am addicted to scrapbooking.

4. I am trying to get a book published.

5. I cannot live without books.

I tag Nikki, Siobhan, Domi, Donny, Josh, and Julie

Heres the rules...
1.) Start with six random/weird facts about yourself.
2.) Tag six people, who now have to post six random facts about themselves, as well as clearly post these rules.
3.) Make sure to post the names of the six people at the end of your post.
4.) Leave the six tagged people a comment on their website telling them that they are tagged, and to go to your xanga for the rules/information.
5.) If you've been tagged more than once, you only have to post once and tag onceeen tagged!