2010 in Review... September

September

Matthew turned 1 and was baptized this month. What a blessing to celebrate his sweet little life with so many who love him. I made a Tootles cake, which is a character from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I spent an afternoon taking photos and eating yummy food with Ka'Shira, Bella and Avah at the Wilmington Corn Festival. Also learned about a particular type of engine there with my dad. The "One Love" walk fundraiser for CSI Jamaica and Project RAISE brought another visit with Lisa Lockwood in Waynesville. I met her daughter Laurel that day, and quite a few board members for CSI I'd only before known by name. Mom joined me, and was able to meet a number of people that day, too. For Derek's birthday I made a turntable cake... and gave him a fake rubber heart. Hence the murderous photo. I think it was a success.

To Do Tuesday

Yikes the list never ends.... going to narrow it down for the week to the following:


1. Catch up on CSI thank you notes
2. Clean all of my floors
3. Take 2 boxes of things to The Well
4. Organize my "baking" cabinet in the kitchen. Hopefully this will provide more items to get rid of.
5. Clean out the Jeep.


Yes I think that's manageable.

2010 in Review... August

August

August started out with Steven's departure to Army Basic Training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and thus the letter writing season began. While I liked writing and recieving letters, I was very much okay with the end of that season in December and starting up daily communication again.

Also in August, this world lost an amazing man when Dr. David Hoover passed away. What a celebration service of his life though! I'm sure he was pleased, and he was such a blessing. He gave the best hugs and advice, and was a no nonsense man of God. He has been missed.

 Our friends went to the Columbus Zoo together that month, and had fun despite a shortened day from the rain. Nina, Jordan, Junior, Jaques, Ka'Shira, Avah, Becky, Ryan, Matthew and I saw polar bears and fish. And rain. And a carousel. Good times just the same. The zoo is so fun when you experience it with children.

I helped with Dora's 10th birthday party, which was a "Cake Making" extravaganza! I taught them how to decorate with fondant, and it really was a lot of fun. And a big mess!

The first annual"Be the Church" Sunday was held at my church - with services on a Sunday morning being replaced with outreach activities. Already our second one is scheduled for this May. It was a blessing to take part in the Children's stations.


"Goodbye" Senior Picture Pose



Cake Party

At the Zoo



BOUNCY HOUSE for "Be the Church" Day



How Great is Our God

photo from Grieving Gracefully

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my dad's birthday! We will be celebrating all weekend. Saturday he and I will be going to hear my brother Derek's band play, and on Sunday the whole family will have dinner and a scavenger hunt. He's had a rough year, and this weekend we are celebrating him.



in the marine apron I made him for Christmas



Organizing the Mess: Fabric

In my endless crafting, there is usually an endless mess.

Fabric is often at the heart of this mess.

Choosing a fabic for the project means pulling out lots of options, then getting inspired and excited, and leaving the pile for later. Craftiness is Not Optional gave this amazing "how-to" for fabric organization. but I am eager to try!



photo from Craftiness is Not Optional blog



Organizing the Mess: Goal for Lent

My Lenten promise ties in nicely to my preparation to move out of the country. Each day my goal is to get rid of 10 things. I'll admit I'm not always on top of it - but overall I'm up to date as I overcompensate some days. This process equals trying on lots of clothes, and doing a trial wear just in case I "need" it. Then I either wash and box up to give away, or wash and rehang. I'm trying to be purposeful with what I keep, as well as what I give.


For my DVD's, I've kept a running list of what I'm giving away and am letting my besties/family/coworkers take from the list. Sadly, I still have a box full.


For clothes, I'm looking at who might need/want those items. Sometimes it's my mother or friends, but generally it is our local freestore/community resource center The Well. Household and games items mostly are going to The Well also.


I haven't tackled books or cookbooks yet. Yikes. Or craft supplies.


Oh dear, I'm a packrat.

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the

unnecessary so that the necessary may speak."

-Hans Hofmann, Introduction to the Bootstrap, 1993

2010 in Review... July

July

July was a fun month, but not a lot happened. Christina's birthday, and recovery from a busy June mostly. One adventure was camping in Kentucky with Steven over the 4th of July weekend. Not quite halfway between OH and TN, but closer. Great weather, great campsite, great antiquing, hiking, caving, and just resting. Nice little mini-break for the month. And we didn't have to go anywhere for great fireworks... picnic blanket in a field, and they were right above us!

C.S. Lewis Quote

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house.

At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing.

He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on;

you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised.

But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably

and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to?

The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from

the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an

extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards.

You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage:

but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

 - C.S. Lewis

 

discovered at Sunshine Promises

St. Patrick's Prayer

Christ be with me, Christ within me,

Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.


Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

found on the breastplate of St. Patrick; discovered today at Imparting Grace.

Saint Patricks Day Craftiness

Pot of Gold made from a painted pot,
rolos for gold, and a pipecleaner rainbow!
Modified from many different versions over the years.

Paper shamrock - 8 hearts folded in half, paper stem, mounted on scrapbook paper.
IKEA frame with "glass" removed.

Romans 8:28



Highgate, JA



"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."   NIV

"Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." The Message

"We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose." Amplified Bible





Work it Out



By Sarah Abbott via That's Happy



To Do Tuesday...

Oh dear I've been slacking on updates on my 30x30 list, so here we go!

No changes.

I've edged towards a few, but not accomplished anything new. I sew something new every week, and try a new recipe every week... but those are on-going. I almost had a chess lesson, but that fell through, too!

To do for my week:
1. CSI Thank You Notes
2. finish St. Patricks Day crafts
3. Spring wreath for my door
4. pack up all unseasonal things for storage unit. No comment on how much or what I speak of!
5. Continue with my Lenten committment to get rid of 10 things a day. Trash, give away, return, etc. Good goal!

2010 in Review... June

June:

Warm June - Summer at last! June brought the birthdays of Becky and Steven, Avah's very first birthday, a trip to the Shoe for a work training, StudioGo! VBS at church and the First Annual Knoxed Up with my college peeps in the Vern. It was a good month indeed!

Avah J turns 1!

Shoe

Not their first meeting, but the first interacting of Nora and Matthew

Knoxed-Up 2010

2010 in Review... May

May:
My mom's birthday is in May, and her cake in 2010 was a Lemon Creme Cake - as I attempted to recreate that cake from The Spaghetti Warehouse. That didn't really happen, but it was a delicious lemon cake!

I went to Women of Faith weekend for the 2nd time with Nina, Kelli, Shena, Mel and Sierra. We stayed at a super cute hotel (The Loft) in the Arena District with b&w photography and exposed brick. Other than being too tiny to hold all of us, it was a cool time.

Beyond that the rest of my month was spent in Jamaica. I blogged about that quite a bit, so I'll summarize with photos and this thought: I prayed to be in the moment, and I was. The photos don't reflect the people I met or will work with in the future - I didn't often photograph them, but I haven't forgotten their faces. Below are moments of finding my new normal instead.



My new future roomate. Or its cousin.



My fancy toes from AnnaKay



Bedwards: The Wal-Mart of Highgate!



My first time driving on the wrong side of the road/car.



Sometimes you just have to be direct! This was my fav "billboard" in Port Maria.



Last night in JA for 2010 - the most spectacular sunset in MoBay.



2010 in Review... April

April

In April 2010, I was appointed to Jamaica by CSI and after ensuring my family was ready, I made the announcement to my church. Followed along the little girl brithday circuit by helping with Addison's 5th Rockstar Party!

Our annual church Easter Egg Hunt grew to include more families, more activities and BABY DUCKS! It was a memorable day of my church coming together to make it happen. The month rounded out with me singing with a gospel group at Expresso Yourself - and many of my sweet friends and family came out to watch. I have groupies! It was a fun follow-up to singing with the Columbus Symphony in December.




Expresso Yourself friends



                            

Jamaica mon

Rockstar party!

Baby ducks!

Easter



2010 in Review... March

March:

Birthday Girl!

March was a birthday party extravaganza month! Bella had her 4th birthday on March 15, and because I gave her a bitty baby for that occasion - TianaAlbee's birthday was also celebrated! Izabella had a McDonald's Play Place party for friends and family, then we had little slumber party with me (the Fairy Godmother), her mama, and little sister Avah. We all wore Tinkerbell jammies, watched The Frog Princess, had "pink cow" floats, and slept in sleeping bags. Good times for all!



Also I helped with a princess birthday party for a little girl at my church - wore my college formal gown, long gloves - it's fun for grown-up girls to feel fancy, too! For my dad's birthday I created a Peanut Buster Parfait cake, after his fav DQ treat. March was a very happy and delicious month!





Tinkerbell Slumber party!



Introducing Tiana Albee!



Princess Party for Maddy



2010 in Review... February

February

Apparently, I hibernated.

Nothing fun recorded in my personal life, but I spent a lot of time interviewing candidates for Accounting jobs at work. Good times indeed.

2010 In Review... January

It has been a big year - and until I started typing this, I'm not sure I realized it! Lots of celebrations, and new experiences to round out the year. And though I'm trying to treasure those moments that can't be captured with a camera... these were! Instead of being overwhelmed with every month at once... I'll do a month a day!

January:

January brought cold weather, but a lot of fun. A Murder Mystery Party with Kelli, Shena and the crew - costumes, accents, excellent food - who could go wrong? I was a goth author, and nearly the murderer. Is it ok to be disappointed when you aren't the fictional murderer?

For Shena's birthday we took a gourmet cooking class in Powell, OH with Feasts from the Pantry - delicious and highly recommended. She sent us home with lessons like "here's how to hack up a whole chicken!" Ok, she didn't say hack... I did. And I wasn't totally grossed out. I think this skill will be helpful in Jamaica, and it saves money in the states. We got a recipe book of what we made that night, and I make the microwave chocolate cake quite regularly!

Murder Mystery Party at Chambers for NY10

Jackie's Hat

I have been fascinated with the Kennedy family for as long as I can remember. My first recollection of knowing who they were is when my aunt gave me a book created the year following JFKs assassination. This morning I read an interesting article about the suit and hat Jackie wore that day. Click the photo below to read it from the LA Times original source.

(photo source: politico.com)