I've been a busy girl lately...

We started our summer quarter at work two weeks ago, and it's been crazy! With the merger, and our high numbers, we've been hopping. I seriously spent every night the first week just recovering from my day. This past week has been so much better thankfully, and now I only have 43 days until the end of the quarter - not that we're counting or anything ;).

I'm still in the Camp Friendzy competition over at http://www.scrap-friendzy.com/. There is a fantastic group of ladies over there, and I encourage anyone who scraps to stop by and visit. It's such an encouraging place, and the best part - it's drama-free!

I'll upload a few newer layouts once I switch them from one computer to another, but this is my layout for this week's challenge. We just had to tie something on our layout. I pulled out my baker's twine and went to town!



I used papers from the Pebbles Tree House line - it's adorable!

Now I'm off to clean the house. It amazes me the mess that accumulates while Max and I are working during the week.

Before I go, though, a big Happy Birthday to my Dad! We love you!

A new scrappy home...

After Scrap Diner closed, I've been looking for a new scrappy home on the web. And I think I've found it! I saw a contest for www.scrap-friendzy.com advertised on www.scrapbookcalls.typepad.com and decided to check it out. Good move! What a fantastic, friendly group of ladies! I've felt so welcomed and so "at home"...I've even scrapped for the first time in months!

So, for any of my scrappy friends, I strongly encourage you to check them out. Camp Friendzy is taking place right now - and there's still time to sign up! Just tell them Dawn sent you! ;)

I'm off to work on another challenge!

Home today...

I'm doing a rare thing...staying home today. I caught a little stomach bug yesterday evening, but thankfully I'm starting to feel better. I have to admit, I'm enjoying the extra time with the boys, even if I'm not at 100%. Cuddling and watching dvd's is always a good thing. ;)

I made a fun scrappy discovery today. I was catching up with emails and some sites I had bookmarked, and I found out that Top Shelf Memories is having a launch party on their blog. I'm personally giving the sketch challenge a try...I need a push to start scrapbooking again! Definitely check it out - they're having a great sale in the store as well!

Before I close, I thought I'd share a couple pictures from the past week.

First up, muffins...we made chocolate chip, strawberry, and blueberry muffins this weekend. Yum!



Next up is the jumbo-lego mini golf course that Will created in the playroom. That boy is super talented!



And lastly, here's Christian feeding one of the horses next door. I'm not sure if I'll ever get tired of looking out the window and seeing horses at the fence...and the boys have definitely made some four-legged friends!

Have a great Wednesday! God Bless!

Saving money is good...

We're trying to be more frugal (not an easy task for me) and have decided to start using coupons. I used to be a great sale/coupon shopper, but got out of the habit. With the help of the Southern Savers website, I embarked on grocery shopping trips to Publix and Winn-Dixie, coupons and sales flyers in hand. I stocked up big-time...we were over-flowing the back storage area of the van. In the end, I spent $190, but I saved $155! Math nerd that I am, I had to figure out the percentage - 44% off the grocery bill! Besides milk, we're now stocked for at least two weeks.

For Mother's Day, Max let me go on a little scrapbook shopping spree at Scrapbook Chicks. They happen to be having some fantastic sales running right now. I bought over $60 worth of product for $35 (including shipping)!

Moral of the story...saving money feels really good!

A season of change...

I feel like I've lost the entire month of April. Working full-time has been hard on me and the entire family. I'm so thankful I'll have a few weeks at the end of this quarter to spend at home with my boys. I miss them so much every day; it's hard to walk out that door and leave them behind.

Fridays are my favorite. I only have a half-day at work, then a full weekend at home with my guys. Makes Momma happy. :)

Things have been so busy with work that I still don't have the scrap-room unpacked and organized. It's sad really, as we've been in the house since February. I'm making it a priority to get that room finished because I need to start creating again. I've got so many ideas in my head that I really want to get out - plus it's just plain fun to play with paper and paint, not to mention all the embellies floating around! I've decided to commit to submitting to some mags and really putting forth effort into my scrapbooking. I have a couple ideas up my sleeve and want to move forward with them.

Before I close, I want to share a couple pics of Will and Christian. We recently had a visit with "Flat Tyler" and the boys took some pics with him in the yard. I have to say, I'm still a little blown away by the fact that we can pet horses from our backyard. Living in the country makes me very happy!





By the way, that's Max mowing the lawn in the backyard. That riding mower was our 10-year anniversary present. We're so romantic (insert eye-roll here!).

P.S. I got an email today from Vocalpoint...Pampers is giving away samples of their new Dry Max Cruisers. Just follow this link! You must be a Vocalpoint member to get the diapers, but the sign-up process is super quick!

Last night was amazing...

Will and I went to see Skillet and tobymac down in Tallahassee...such an amazing experience to share with my son. The joy on his face when tobymac took the stage blew me away. I'm super tired today, but it was so worth it.

We actually got the tickets for free (thank you Way-FM ). On a side note, please support your local Christian radio station. I wish I could give more to ours - it's always on in the car. The boys know the words to the songs, and I'm so thankful that we have the opportunity to share "Jesus music" with our children.

Skillet was fantastic! The talent in that band blew me away. Seriously, if you don't know their music, check it out. Their drummer rocks it out - that girl had some skills...wow!

The highlight of Will's night was tobymac...the rest of the concert was just an appetizer for him. His face when tobymac walked up to the platform was priceless - I tried to get a picture but I just couldn't capture the sheer joy on that boy's face. And tobymac did not let us down - that man had such a high-energy, crowd-pumping show that the entire crowd was on their feet! It was awesome! And he sang "Jesus Freak" toward the end, which was pretty cool. I did feel a little old when I realized that the teenagers around me were babies (at best) when the song was released. Yeah.

And as a souvenir, what did my son choose? Not a poster, or stickers, or a hat or t-shirt. No, not Will. He had to have drum sticks. Now he wants to know where he can get a drum set. ;)

Some changes...

I've updated the blog background, and am committing to regularly updating the blog. I need to get my craft room unpacked so I can start creating again. I'm working on opening up an etsy store (it's actually created, I just need to fill it!), and I've got some plans for later this year. I'm hoping for some positive changes in 2010. We're in our wonderful new home, and I'm working on actually being home to enjoy it with the boys.

Right now, I'm focusing on the tobyMac concert I'll be attending with Will later this week and a nice long weekend. :)

I love living in the country...

This morning, the boys and I were able to pet some horses while standing in our yard (the advantages of living next door to a horse farm). A year ago, if someone asked me if I wanted to live on a dirt road next to a farm I would have laughed "no way!". And now, I couldn't be happier. These past six months have been a time of trial and tribulation for Max and I, and God has brought us through even better than before. I read through the book of Job last year, and while what we've been through doesn't even begin to compare to his turmoils, I learned an important lesson. When God allows you to face the trials, He will completely, abundantly bless you on the other side. Stay strong in Him!

Back in the saddle...

It's official...I start teaching September 30 at Val Tech. The wonderful Dean gave me 6 classes - and I'm choosing the text for one of them! Two of the texts I'm using I've taught from before - how cool is that?

I'm really excited about the possibilities. We've got some debt that's my fault and I really want to work to erase it. My Mom raised me to accept responsibility, and sometimes it's harder than others. I'm not looking forward to being away from the boys, but I'll be home for lunch 3 days a week. The other two I'll be home a little after 3, so it shouldn't be too bad. They're actually looking forward to a babysitter - go figure!

I've been hired part-time right now, but I've put in for a full-time math position that begins with the January quarter. Here's the kicker - I'll actually be teaching FEWER classes as a full-time instructor! They're about to start remodeling the general studies building, and it should be really nice when it's done (supposed to be finished in December). So that's really promising.

I know this job is from God...I'll post later how the whole thing played out. And in this economy it's a real blessing to have the extra income. We are so blessed!

Big changes...

And I'm still not sure how I feel about them. Lots of mixed emotions right now. If you're reading this, please pray for me. I'm in the midst of some big decisions. I really only want to do what's best for my boys.

Some layouts...

Birdhouses...

These little houses are from my favorite etsy store: www.damboisedesigns.etsy.com. Aren't they adorable? I used some My Mind's Eye glitter paper for the houses, which is really hard to see in the pics. I love the way they turned out!

Another day in the life...

(Note: this is a copy from the other blog.)

We’ve started week 2 of our homeschool jouney with Will and Christian. Today Andrew even joined in for some math. That’s my boy.

As promised, here’s some pics of the schoolroom. We converted our house’s formal dining room into the homeschool room. Here’s a view from the living room:

And here’s Will hard at work on his handwriting exercise (yes, he’s a leftie):

And, finally, here’s Christian at his desk:

Christian was actually done for the day, but he posed for me. With his balloon.

Speaking of Christian, here’s a cute story that involves him. A few days ago he got cold while watching tv and I told him he could grab a blanket from the dryer as I’d just washed them. Fast forward a couple hours. As we’re putting the boys to bed I realize that Christian probably didn’t close the dryer door when he grabbed the blanket. So I go to the laundry room to check. And find this:

Cupcake the little sneak. But we love her.

Hope your week is wonderful!

God bless,
Dawn

I'm back...

I switched over, but now I'm coming back to blogger. I'm going to try to move the posts from the other blog over here later today. Wish me luck!

I've moved...

my blog, that is. My new blog is www.dawnhopkins.wordpress.com. Please come follow the boys and me over there!

Life happens...

We've had a crazy year. We've moved again, but just across town. And this time we're staying! The house in PA sold (hence our move across town) and we've bought the house down here in GA. Will is happily homeschooling and Christian has started to join us. I recently became a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator (love that!) and am starting to plan some scrapbooking events. We joined our church (I had to stand in for Max 'cause he works on Sundays, but it's all good). And we've added another member to our family...Oreo, the greatest cat EVER! I'm trying to get my sister to move to GA too...we'll keep praying about that one. Is this totally random or what?

I'll try to post later with some actual pictures...maybe even a video if blogger cooperates.

It's been a while...

I've actually been debating whether or not to delete my blog. I've been so busy with life that I haven't been updating. In the end, I decided to give it another go...we'll see if I can keep up this time.

It's cold...

There's something wacky going on when it's colder in south GA than in south PA. Currently it's 39 degrees here in Hahira. I'm running the heat. Brrrr....

I feel like the dam is about to burst...

In my spirit, I feel like something big is about to happen. I don't know what yet, but I think it's going to involve me getting over my fears of speaking out and possibly offending someone. There are people dying without hope...I have loved ones without hope. I need to tell them about Jesus, but more than that, I need to show them Jesus.

And I'm going to start singing again. Healing is coming.

From Mark 5:

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
31"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "
32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

A little preaching...

Things have been busy and I haven't been feeling so well, but we're on the upswing. I went to the doctor, I'm getting better, and the house is just about unpacked! We've found a great church, made some new friends, and are generally very-much enjoying Georgia (the bugs I could do without!).

Will's birthday was Sunday; I'm still not believing he's 6 years old. We had a low-key celebration, but it was good. One of the gifts that Max and I bought for him was a Bible (and here's where the preaching comes in).

So Monday I read the story of David and Goliath (I Samuel 17 if you're interested in reading the whole thing). And I've heard the story so many times but I haven't often actually read it. And it's powerful. You've got this giant who has petrified the entire Israeli army...I'm talking they're hiding from him. And then you have this boy come onto the scene and he's the only one willing to stand up to giant warrior. David has such faith and trust in God; he says that God has protected him from lions and bears and he will protect him now. Wow! You've got a giant, a trained warrior, in full battle armor and then this boy with nothing but a slingshot a 5 rocks. And the boy is not afraid!

But it gets better. The giant starts to taunt David and is almost offended that Israel would send a boy to fight him. So David says:

45 "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."

If those aren't fighting words I don't know what is. So the giant comes after him and the Bible says that David runs to the battle line to meet him. Looking at the picture from a human perspective, the odds were completely against David. But we so often forgot about the ultimate warrior that was standing beside David. God loves to work through the weakest and most unlikely person because it's not by power, or might, or sword, or smooth-talking that the battle gets won. There's another passage in Exodus 14 that I love (this is as the Israelites are leaving Egypt and are being followed by Pharaoh's army; the people are afraid and starting to complain):

13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

How often do I try to fight the battle on my own and I fail miserably. As David says "the battle is the LORD's". Every person on this planet has battles - whether they be health or financial or marital or whatever. We need to remember that God is our ultimate warrior and He will fight for us. We simply need to be still in Him.