Busy Busy!

Wow I've been busy lately! I can't even believe so much time has gone by since I posted last!

Where do I even begin?

When I last posted I was going to throw my sis-in-law-to-be a bridal shower...well it was wonderful! We had roughly 20 women there all to celebrate Jess! It was great to see her soooo celebrated! She was all smiles too, so I've gotta think she really enjoyed herself! ha! She did get 2 waffle makers...but I believe that was the only duplicate gift...I think anyway...

My trip to Omaha was great, as usual. It made me want to move back. I got to spend time with my brother and my aunt and uncle...niece and nephew as well...I just love them so much. It was really hard to come back to Chicago and start the daily grind again. I miss my family so much sometimes. It would be so nice to see them more often. My uncle reminds me some of my dad...so does my brother at times. We had a great time just sharing memories with each other. What a goofy family we are!


So, while at my brother's house, he showed of the stained glass window that he and my sister in law refinished! I have a picture of it below - it is SO beautiful! They bought it off Craigslist and cleaned it up and repaired it! How awesome is that?!?! They did an amazing job...I was SO jealous of their new "artwork" in their family room! Think I can ask for one for my birthday?? haha
Hmmm what else is there to share? Well, I have my grandma's 90th birthday party coming up, so that's exciting. The hubs and I are going to Chadron, NE for a family reunion soon where we will celebrate Grandma Morna's 90 years on this earth! I think God so much for her - she's possibly the most amazing person I know.

Ok - well had better wrap this up. I will attempt to keep this thing more up to date now that work has leveled off and my personal life has slowed down a bit. OH - one more thing though! I did end up giving the crabby quilt to my friend, she loved it, and it nearly went along with her nursery theme. Let's just say it didn't clash, so I was happy. Her baby is SO cute! What a little handsome man!

Ok - gotta run!

New focus.

So,

I've been in a bit of a funk lately...I hate it when life suddenly becomes "all about me". It's so awkward. I find myself running discussions about me this me that...and I wonder how any of my friends or family can put up with this. Thankfully...I don't think it happens too much, but when it does I'm sure it's annoying for everyone.

This week I turned 33. Crazy. I can't believe that I'm now well into my 30's. I don't know why it's so weird to me? It just is. I know in some cases I feel like I should have kids by now. I'm pretty sure the cat's outta the bag and just about everyone knows me and the hubbs are trying for a baby. If you are reading this, you know me, and you don't know that last bit of information - terribly sorry...I really did mean to tell you in person, but I either forgot when I had the chance or I think I already told you. Either way - I love you :) and meant to tell you! lol

This week was difficult and I think that's what's playing into my "all about me" week. Well I would suppose my birthday plays into it as well, so I don't feel awful about it - I just need to do some changing.

I've had no "quiet time". I think I will just skip over the other mundane details of the week and get to the real source of why it's been such a rough week. I've spent no time with the very one I call God. You would think by now He'd be a total priority every day, but I still struggle especially when I'm not attending a small group. I have a hard time just sitting down and reading the Bible on my own. I have a hard time admitting that honestly...but it's true.

I recently listened to a sermon a friend posted on her blog. It highlighted that it was our responsibility to getting OUT of any funk we might be in...by doing a few "simple" basic things. These are the notes I took while listening...

I want to remain aware of God's love.

Keep yourselves in the love of God. Keeping myself in the love of God is my responsibility...not my husband's, not my church's, and not my small group's job.

God works in us, with us, against us, or without us.

3 Ways to keep yourself in God's love

Build myself up in my "most holy faith" preach and apply in my own heart. Grow in my understanding of the gospel. Each and every day.

How do I do this?
- listen to worship music. nothing really lifts my spirits quite like listening and singing along with worhsip music...there's just something so fulfilling about it.
- praying - this is a little more difficult for me. I need a quiet environment for structured prayer. I do, however try to send up various prayers during quiet moments...
- wait for His mercy. This is really really hard. Wait? Who likes to wait? This is opposite of everything in me. I must remember - what I'm waiting for - makes ALL the difference.

All of this comes from the book of Jude. How terribly wonderful! I'm going to go see my best friend's new baby - named JUDE! What perfect timing!

This coming week I will have a new focus. Spending time in the Word is a must. No matter what! Even if I have to put off my craft room!!

A New Toy

I absolutely love new toys! Who doesn't? There are very few things more self-fulfilling to me than opening a brand new digital/electronic gadget. Just like a child I will more than likely take it everywhere I go and show it off for weeks. I just get so excited over gifts...especially when they are higher dollar gifts!

I don't consider myself terribly materialistic, I just love giving and receiving gifts. My husband and I share that trait, so it works out great for us both. (except in terms of minding our budget constraints)

I recently received a new ipad2 for my birthday. I was shocked, speechless even. I couldn't believe my husband got one for me...he totally surprised me and it was wonderful. In the last 2 weeks I have spent more time in the App Store than I'd like to admit. I've discovered Words with Friends (another great time waster, but I still think it's valuable because it's educational...right?) and loads of wonderful free apps. Each time I download an app it's like getting another small gift!

Gifts like this can be used for the good or for the bad. In my case I think I've done an okay job of keeping a good balance, but I must say it wasn't easy at first. I admit...I took it to work so I could keep up with "words with friends" the first and second day I owned the iPad. This was a poor decision and has since stopped for obvious reasons. Another not great side of having this new technology is that I often sit right next to my hubs on the couch and play with the iPad, while he watches 24. I would not define this use of our time as "quality".

So, I'm on a quest to use this thing for some good. I downloaded a Bible app as well as a blog app. For the next month I'm going to do my best to go through a 31 day Bible study and write out my thoughts each day. Each day the study asks questions about the passage(s) that I will answer. I will post the passage I am reading as well as my thoughts and answers to the posed questions. I'm looking forward to this!

I hope my 2 followers are as well!