Still Alive...

Hi, everyone! Yes, I'm still alive! I can't believe how lax I've been about posting lately. I was just looking at the "count" of blog posts... 201 in 2007, as compared to this being the 32nd post of 2008! I've been busy reading EVERYONE ELSE's blogs... and I'm addicted to Facebook! So, there you have it!

Well, August was very busy for us, as has this first week of September!

The first week of August (3-7) was our Youth Conference at our church, Shawnee Baptist, here in Louisville. We had 961 teens from (I think) 34 different states and 4 different countries that attended the conference. Our Youth Conference is different in that the kids come to hear the preaching of God's Word... 6 times a day for 3 days straight, then on Thursday they get to go to Kentucky Kingdom. It was absolutely AWESOME! You can check out the pics that I posted on Facebook here:

Youth Conference pics #1 Youth Conference pics #2

The following weekend, the 15th, Chris had free tickets given to him for a Cincinnati Reds baseball game. We called our friends, Steve & Joy Francis, and met them at the game. We enjoyed their company, the game, and the fireworks after the game that we watched as we were walking back over the bridge from Cincinnati to Florence, KY. I had to work EARLY the next morning, so I was VERY tired, but it was fun anyway. More pics here

The next day after work, Chris and I headed to Lexington, KY. Chris had mandatory training for his work that Sun/Mon, and we have friends that live in Lexington. Since Monday was my birthday (happy birthday to me! :-P), I didn't want to spend it by myself or working while Chris was out of town. We called Kevin & Beth Busch, and we spent the weekend with them (and their son, Silas,) instead... well, I spent time with Beth while Chris was in training. I also got to visit some friends... the Valentine's... that we hadn't seen for a LONG time! Their kids are adorable! Beth made me a cake for my birthday, and we celebrated Sunday night. See more pics here

On the 23rd, we had free tickets to a Bats game, so invited our friends, Scott & April Mohler to join us at the game. We enjoyed the fellowship with them, and were greatly entertained at the game by the presence of the San Diego Chicken mascot. It was fun! Click here to see more pics

I left on Aug. 29th to drive (all by myself) to Watertown, WI, to see my whole family together (except Chris couldn't go... SOMEBODY has to work around here!) :-) It was Maranatha Baptist Bible College's Alumni "scrimmage," and my older brother, Steve, and middle brother, Greg, were playing on the alumni team against my baby brother, Nathan, who was playing on the Crusaders college team (for the last year.) It was so fun to watch them play again, and also to see my family together. I got to meet my newest nephew, Colt... who is absolutely ADORABLE! (of course). I really wish Chris could have come with me, but he is saving his time off for another very special occasion later this fall that we are praying God provides the time off/money for us to go. It was a good time with my family though, and it's rare for them to all be together at the same time. I tried to upload pictures to Facebook, but I couldn't get it to upload the other night, so I'll have to post a link when I get them up there.

This weekend, our church had their Ladies' Retreat. I had to work, since I was gone last weekend. Fortunately, I work only 30 minutes from the camp where our Retreat was held, so I went there from work, spent the night, and drove back to work this morning. It was a shorter distance to drive to the camp than to drive home, so it worked out well, and I enjoyed the short time I was able to spend there. It was a blessing!

So - that's the major run-down of things going on here. In other news, I FINALLY went to the doctor to get a sleep study done. Chris thinks that it's very possible that I have sleep apnea. My sleep study is scheduled for Sept 23, so please pray that they can figure out what is wrong with me so that I can get it fixed (hopefully without medicine!) I have been SO incredibly tired lately (more-so than usual!) I've been dozing off when driving to/from work a lot lately, which is very scary and dangerous! So - please pray for all of that.

That's it for now... see you next month! :-) Just kidding -I'm hoping to blog a little more frequently now.

Christmas decorations

Here are some pictures of our house decorated for Christmas:
The Nativity scene always takes it's place of honor centered under the tree. The wisemen are on the table in the kitchen... they are still on their way! :-)
A wreath my SIL, Rachael made for us for Christmas last year, and a snowflake bell door chime that another SIL, Julie, gave me for Christmas many years ago.

A sled that a friend, Dawn, made for me for Christmas probably 8 years ago now.
Candy Cane snowman. He's funky, but a dear friend gave him to me, so...

Side table in the kitchen... the wisemen are on here now.
The dining room

My kitchen windowsill

My one shelf in the living room :-)

Putting the tree up
Chris and I started a tradition of getting a personalized ornament every year with our names and the year on it. We didn't get one last year b/c of $ issues, but we're planning on making up for that this year. Anyway, here are the ornaments all together, and below are pics of them on the tree. I couldn't get a half-way decent one of the snowflake due to the reflection. Anyway, here they are...
Our first Christmas 2000
2001
2002
2004

2005

A large barn star ornament I made at a stamping party this year

the small barn star we made

A snowflake ornament that I made years ago. I have about 2 dozen of them on my tree. I love them!

The tree during the day

At night with the niches lit up as well.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Thanksgiving...

I know this is rather late, but I wanted to post anyway. We had a very nice Thanksgiving this year. We were able to get together with some friends that we hadn't seen in over 5 years. We met them working at Northland Camp, and found out via Facebook that they had recently moved to Lexington, KY, which is about an hour&1/2 from us. We had a great time of fellowship and of course, good food... compliments of Beth. I didn't have to cook, other than a sweet potato casserole, so I was VERY happy! Here are some pics from the day:

Chris dishing out mashed potatoes
Beth sitting down to her meal

Chillin' out... Beth on the phone with her mom, and Chris and Kevin enjoying a football game and some fellowship
Chris and I
Beth, Silas & Kevin

Beth & Silas

Silas & Kevin
Chris & Silas playing hockey with golf clubs
Chris&Heather; Beth, Silas, & Kevin

The past couple of weeks...

It seems like it's been a long time since my last post. I'm not sure how many of you actually READ this, so sometimes I need to write just for me. I guess my lack of blogging is related to the way I've been feeling lately. My personality tends to be negative, harsh, and judgmental, and since I've been fighting the grumbling spirit lately, it hasn't helped. I guess maybe I'll just vent, then share the good.

In my last post, I told you that I had strep throat... what a blessing! Well, it is now about a week &1/2 later, and my throat is still swollen with white patches on it! YUCK! I was feeling better until last Wed... when I got a cold added to my strep throat. It started out with sneezing and a few sniffles, and now has morphed into a sore throat with a dry cough. It's been hard to get sleep, and I know that doesn't help my complaining spirit, either.

Let me catch you up to date on a few things that have been happening here. First of all, Sat 10/27, I spent 5 hours in the Emergency Room (for work) with Lil D. He started running a fever at my house the day before, and when I got to his house Sat. am for work, his mom told me he had run a fever all night. The ER doc eventually told us it was pneumonia. Lil D has been pretty lethargic since then, sleeping for sometimes 4 hours of my shift (which is 1/2 the time). It makes for an easy day of work for me, but I feel bad for D.

That same Sat. we had our Trunk-or-Treat at the church. It's sponsored by our youth group for our church, and it's their fundraiser. People decorate the trunks of their vehicles, then they have costume contests for the kids, a pumpkin carving contest, a dessert auction, concessions, and a guess how many candies in the jar. The kids all get in a line and "trick-or-treat" around the trunks of the vehicles. It's a fun time of fellowship, and we enjoyed the time with friends. I was thrilled to have the privilege of carrying around my friends' 4&1/2 week old baby for the 2 hours that we were there! He was so sweet, and slept the WHOLE TIME! I do have to say that my arms were pretty tired by the end of the night... but it was SO worth it! :-)

The last Sunday of October, we finished our SS promotion, and OUR TEAM WON!! :-) We were excited about that!

On Halloween, I worked, and D was all dressed up as a little pumpkin. He is so adorable! I'll post pics soon! I'm not a big fan of Halloween personally, but I love seeing the kiddos all dressed up. They are so adorable.

Thursday, I was invited to my friend Shanna's house for lunch. Shanna is a pediatric doctor in her residency here in the area. She made French onion soup and sandwiches for us, and we spent a good 2&1/2 hours visiting. It was a great time of fellowship and I enjoyed her company.

Also this week, I have been able to talk to my SIL almost every day. We found out on 10/27 that a close friend of hers died on the Thurs before. She was/is really struggling dealing with the grieving process, and was by herself most every morning, so she called me to talk for an hour at least almost every day. It was good getting to know her a little better, and building that relationship.

Tuesday, I went over to a friend's house to start stamping my Christmas cards. She has two nativity - type stamp sets that I really liked. I've been very convicted the past couple years about sending out Christmas cards that have no reference to the REAL reason for Christmas - the Lord Jesus Christ - other than the saying "Merry CHRISTmas!" This year I wanted to change that, so my friend is allowing me to use her stamps to make my Christmas cards.

On Thursday, I went over to the same friend's house, and we had a stamping party. We folded some designer paper into barn-type stars, and then made a really cute snowman card with some non-traditional winter colors. I'll post them on my stamping site one of these days.... I always enjoy our stamping parties... I just love the fellowship!

Saturday, I was able to work an hour and 1/2 overtime, which will help a little with finances. Chris and I went over our financial status this weekend, and made some changes to how we were spending, etc. Hopefully that will help us get out of this hole we dug ourselves into!

Well, now that I write about it, I guess my week wasn't all bad after all! :-) I just struggle so much with a negative spirit when I'm over tired, stressed and sick!

Happy Harvest Mix

I posted this on my craft site, but I'm sure that some of you don't check on that one as much, so I'm posting it again here. I just thought I'd share a little bit of a fall treat with you. My roommate in college my junior year made this (minus the Reese's pieces), and we ate it like crazy! I had forgotten all about it until I walked into Walmart a couple weeks ago and saw candy corn for sale. I bought the ingredients and made up a batch and gave it to some of our college students here. Anyway, here is the post from Stamps, Scraps, Stitches -n- Stuff:

Finally - I'm back to doing a little stamping. I'm not sure why, but I was in a stamping funk there for a while. I just didn't feel like stamping... maybe because I see what others post on their stamping blogs (of course, these are designers of stamps and they have ALL kinds of toys to play with at their fingertips) and rather than being inspired, I got a little discouraged. ANYWAY, I've decided that it doesn't matter what others do, I can only do what I can with what I have. So - today, I stamped a little bit:


Happy Harvest Mix
Recipe... (click on the picture to make it larger so you can get the details!)

The back of the little card.

So - here's a little treat recipe for you, if you want to indulge in a little fall sweetness. A handful of ingredients all eaten in one bite tastes a lot like a Baby Ruth candy bar.
Enjoy the season!

Quick Note

We just got back from a weekend trip to Boston... VERY fun, but I am VERY tired! I'll post more about our little jaunt later, but wanted to say hello!
And to share... Chris had the awesome opportunity to share his beliefs with his manager over lunch the other day. They got on the subject of "religion" because Chris (the manager) asked Chris (my hubby) about drinking since we were going to a baseball game this weekend. My hubby was able to tell him WHY we don't drink, then the conversation moved on to creation vs. evolution, etc.... and then they were interrupted. I'm always excited when God opens doors to witness to people because we have been faithful to allow the light of the GLORIOUS gospel of truth to shine unto all men THROUGH Christ working IN US! More about the weekend, tomorrow, hopefully! I took lots of pictures! :-) (surprise, surprise!)

Happy 4th of July ~ Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July to you all! I just want to say that I am so thankful to be an American, as well as to be a Christian! Freedom from sin is so much more important than political freedom. I am deeply grateful for the freedom that I have as an American because many men and women have sacrificed and given their lives that I might be free from the tyranny of political bondage. So, thank you to all of you who have either served in our Armed Forces, ARE serving in our Armed Forces, or sacrifice that your loved ones can serve in our Armed Forces. Your sacrifices are not taken lightly.

I am all the more thankful for the freedom that I have found in having a personal relationship with my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He paid the ULTIMATE sacrifice to redeem me from my sin and to offer me the gift of eternal salvation from separation from God forever in Hell. I now have the freedom to live a life that is not held under the bondage of sin, and the guarantee that I will spend eternity in Heaven with God when I die.

Keeping these things in mind, how much better can it get?!?!?

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE!

FREEDOM: CHERISH YOUR FREEDOM AND GUARD IT WITH HONOR AND RESPECT FOR IT CARRIES THE BLOOD OF THOSE WHO GAVE IT TO YOU!

Memorial Day

(Soldier: Because of your bravery, courage, and sacrifice, liberty & freedom are still ours. We are deeply grateful. GODSPEED)

I just wanted to say a HUGE

T H A N K Y O U

to the men and women in the military that sacrifice every day for me to have my freedom, as well as their spouses and families that sacrifice the moments they miss while being away from each other. I hope I live a life that is worthy of that sacrifice. A special thank you to my dad, for serving in the Navy during the Vietnam War, and my 3 brothers in law that have served in various branches of the military. Also, thanks to our good friends, Pete, who served in Desert Storm in Iraq, and Jeff, who has also served many years in the military.

(Letter Home)

I don't have the time to write more tonight, so I'll continue this post tomorrow. I just wanted to post this today... I am so thankful to be an American, and so proud of all of those who have given their lives, whether in life or in death, to preserve the freedom and liberty that I hold so dear. I am deeply grateful!

(some gave all)

More on my trip to FL

The Mitchell family at Julianne's Graduation

OK, before going on with the story of our trip, I have to tell you 2 stories that involve my father-in-law. Just a little bit of background with him: He likes to be right... and most of the time is, but I LOVE to argue with him and prove him wrong... just because! I now have the type of relationship that I can do that with him, and it doesn't come across as being disrespectful. In the earlier years of my marriage and dealing with my FIL, we had some tough times, but my relationship with both him and my MIL are wonderful, and I am SO thankful for that. I get along VERY well with my in-laws (at least most of them), so much so that sometimes I wonder if I should have been born into their family instead of my own. ANYWAY... back to the FIL...

Tuesday night, Chris' family all went out to eat together, which we normally do when we are all together like that. We were having our regular dinner conversation, and somehow we got on the subject of engagements (I'm not sure how that happened, but it did.) I made the comment that my mom had actually given me "permission" to kiss Chris when we got engaged (my parents have always maintained the "hands off" policy... no holding hands or ANYTHING.) My brothers always made a big joke about getting "Mom's permission" to do this or that. SO - I made a comment about it at the table. Now, you have to understand... I was sitting on the side of the table with Chris' brother, Jon, on my left, Chris' sister, Tiffany, on my right, then Kim next to her at the head of the table, then Sandy across from Tiffany, Chris next to Sandy (across from me) and my FIL next to Chris. The conversation was really between Chris and I and his 3 sisters that were down on our end, and I THOUGHT that my FIL was involved in a conversation on the other end of the table. I made the comment about kissing, and out of the blue, my FIL turns and says, "So - you were totally disobeying your father's rules when I broke you and Chris up in the living room at our house that Christmas?"

***Chris and I were NOT perfect during our dating days as far as physical contact is concerned, as I'm sure most people aren't. This particular instance, Chris was sitting on the couch, and I was laying across his lap, and we were talking. We weren't even kissing!***

So, I replied, "Yeah, well, there were a lot of my father's rules that I broke growing up, but I've gotten them all taken care of with my dad... and besides, in some things I still believe 'If they don't know, it won't hurt them.' " I looked across the table and saw Chris' look of disbelief that my FIL had actually brought that up! It was pretty funny, I thought. The funniest thing about it was that I had actually totally forgotten about that incident. I mean, Chris and I have been MARRIED for almost 7 years, so the incident that he was referring to happened the Christmas of 1999... over 7 years before. He had NEVER brought it up before, and then all of the sudden, out of the blue, there it was.

Cloudy skies on our road trip... I love how the sky looks fake.

The other thing that happened with my FIL was while Tiffany and I were traveling. We had called him to tell him that we were about 30 minutes from our destination, and he tried to tell us we were 45 min - 1 hour away. I didn't agree, but let it go (this time.) Earlier that day, another SIL called us to ask us about something else, and gave us a little tip on a tricky turn that was not labeled well on our directions. We were just coming up on this turn when my FIL called. By the time I answered the phone, we had already turned on the road. So, he says to me, "There's a tricky turn coming up soon..." and I interrupted, "I know, we got it." To which he replies, "You don't even know what I'm going to say." "Yes, I do." "No, you don't." "Yes, I do." "No, you don't, HEATHER BETH, you can't read my mind!" "You were going to tell us about the turn onto .... We already made that turn. We have directions, and Kim already told us about it. We'll see you in a few minutes!"

So - why was this so funny? I guess my FIL was really irritated because HE USED MY MIDDLE NAME!!! I couldn't believe it... MY DAD doesn't even use my middle name, and my FIL used it! I had a little discussion with him about it later, and I told him that I wasn't trying to be rude or disrespectful, but that I really did know what he was going to tell me, so I was trying to save his breath. (How very thoughtful of me, don't you think?!? :^}) He told me that he had just had a really long day and he was already irritated, so he was just frustrated that I wouldn't listen to him.

By the way, I WAS right... it only took us 30 minutes to get to our final destination from when we called him the 1st time, not 45 min- 1 hour, but I decided NOT to tell him that! :-)

I ended up staying in a hotel with all 4 of Chris' sisters and his 3 month old neice for the 2 days that we were there. It was fun ~ I get along with his sisters very well. So well, in fact, that Chris made the comment before he left on Wednesday to come home, "My sisters love you so much that if I were ever to leave you, they would kill ME!!! Not that I'm planning on leaving you, EVER!" ;-) Again, I am thankful for the family that I was so blessed to be a part of when I married Chris. Don't get me wrong... I LOVE my family, too... I just don't fit in quite as well in my family... there's been too many things that I've done in the past to them for them to be as accepting now... but that's another story that I don't want to revisit.

Saturday, Tiffany and I headed for home after spending time with her brother and sister-in-law that we really hadn't had the chance to visit with over the weekend. We ended up taking Sandy, Kim, and Korissa with us for a little while, then dropped them off at the airport so they could head home. We then drove to Jacksonville (which was on the way home) and met my brother and sister-in-law for dinner. I was very thankful that their schedule was clear enough for us to do that with them... they keep VERY busy. As we were entering Jacksonville, we got a call from Tiffany's brother & family, who was also headed home to Pensacola. They had left a couple of hours before we did, and were calling to let us know that 50 miles of I-10 just west of Jax had been shut down due to the wildfires in the area. They had gone 45 miles in 3 hours!!! Since they were so sweet to call us and warn us about the detour, we were able to ask my bro, Steve & Kathryn, if they would mind if we just stayed the night with them that night and headed home in the morning. I figured since it was already 6:30pm, we wouldn't get home until 2 am if we continued on that night. I would much rather be stuck in traffic with just the 2 of us girls in the DAYLIGHT as opposed to the middle of the night. Besides, that would give us the opportunity to get a "good night's sleep" for the drive in the morning.

"Fog smoke" from the wildfires... this was on the trip from Pensacola on Thursday. The sky really was this weird color green.

More "fog smoke" from the wildfires... this was what the sky looked like from behind us.

Well, we didn't get a "good night's sleep." We barely ended up taking a long "nap." Kathryn, Tiffany, and I stayed up until 3:15am! Kathryn was doing "makeovers" for us, and throughly enjoying it. Poor Steve was left on his own, and ended up going to bed around 1am. Kathryn plucked our eyebrows (I've never had mine done before) and did our makeup. She was still going strong at 3am, but I reminded her that she had to get up for church in the morning, and we had to get on the road and drive at least 5 hours! We had a great time, though, and it was fun for me to get to know Kathryn more. It was very funny to me to see my SIL's from the opposite sides of my family together ~ never thought that would happen ~ and getting along so well. Kathryn and Tiffany are actually the same age. Chris got a laugh out of Tiffany the next morning when he was talking to her. She made these statements one right after the other, "Kathryn is GORGEOUS! She and I are alot alike!" In true big brother fashion, Chris replies, "Oh, so now you think you're gorgeous, huh?" :-)

Not the best picture... but one eyebrow done, one not done. Can you tell the difference?

Tiffany beautiful with make-up

Heather & Tiffany after make-overs

At 3 am...

Tiffany and I got up and said our goodbyes to Steve and Kathryn (and happy birthday to Steve, too... he turned 32 that day) and set off for Pensacola. We were SO thankful for the opportunity to spend the night with Steve and Kathryn... our trip back was totally uneventful... the wind must have changed because the road was totally open, there was little smoke, and very little traffic. The Lord was good to us, and we were so thankful that Tiffany's brother, Tim, called and alerted us to the detour and traffic the night before.



I flew home that afternoon, and had uneventful flights. I was thrilled to see my husband, and to be home! It was a good trip, and I am so thankful that I was able to go!