tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22526236549117543022024-03-14T05:54:41.758-07:00What now?You know those days when it seems like life is throwing stuff at you faster than you can catch it? Yep. That's my life!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-57624001538438953472009-05-21T06:17:00.000-07:002009-05-21T06:23:18.899-07:00Post Christian America?<em>With the social benefits of professing to be a Christian no longer in place and the social stigma of not professing to be a Christian now lifted, those who were part of Christendom America are simply no longer pretending to be part of Christian America.</em><br /><em></em><br />That's a quote from mega-pastor Mark Driscoll in a rebuttal to an article Newsweek did on religion in America. You can see the whole article here: <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,519517,00.html">http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,519517,00.html</a><br /><br />I really liked this quote. It's long been an issue for me for people who in no way could ever be convicted of being a Christian (if put on trial for such) claiming to be one. Driscoll hits it on the head here. There were social benefits to claiming to be a Christian and stigmas to not being one. Neither of those exist anymore.<br /><br />What really gets my knickers in a twist, though, is Christians crying because the national tone has changed. As if legislation would make them righteous. As if everyone going to church on Christmas eve and wishing everyone "Merry Christmas" makes them righteous. As if abortion being illegal or gay marriage being illegal would make them righteous.<br /><br />The Bible says that the way to Life is narrow and few there are who find it. Maybe that's something to consider.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-72460885443089089492009-05-02T09:12:00.000-07:002009-05-02T10:01:27.765-07:00Who's an artist?We all have our own definitions of what "creativity" means.<br /><br />Years ago, when my dearest friend introduced me to scrapbooking, I said I wasn't creative. She teases me about that on occasion still.<br /><br />But I could always qualify that by saying that I have "different kind" of creativity. I still don't think I can do home interior designs (maybe when I don't have any men in my house to mess it up!!), but I feel pretty confident in my own little niche.<br /><br />I've always defined being artistic as being able to draw. That's been a Rubicon I'd never even try to cross.<br /><br />But...<br /><br />Mike's birthday is tomorrow. I wanted to make him a fun card that wasn't too girly. Cupcakes are pretty popular right now but my cupcake stamp (which I'd stamp, color then cut out and add to a card) is little. And I want to make him a big card. So what to do?<br /><br />I drew a cupcake.<br /><br />Yes. You read that right. I drew a cupcake in pieces, used it as a template and made my own. Complete with cherry on top.<br /><br />I am so excited! I can't wait to try new things. I've got a little turtle for a new baby card that's next...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-36359466890146794882009-04-17T07:41:00.000-07:002009-04-17T07:49:56.768-07:00The remarkable Susan Boyle<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dennis-palumbo/what-if-susan-boyle-could_b_187804.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dennis-palumbo/what-if-susan-boyle-could_b_187804.html</a><br /><br />The first link is to the You Tube video of Susan Boyle's audition for "Britian's Got Talent." It appears to be a show in the UK sort of like our American Idol.<br /><br />The second link is to an interesting editorial about the reaction to the hauntingly beautiful voice housed in the ordinary body.<br /><br />I agree. We should not judge books by their cover. Why would we assume that if a person is not beautiful, they shouldn't have any other talent either? Why should we even enter a discussion about it? Does no beauty = no talent? Does being beautiful mean you are gifted in everything you try?<br /><br />The editorialist sugests we think about what we might think about Susan if she couldn't sing. What if she'd been like William Hung? You might remember him from American Idol a few years back. He simply couldn't sing. But we loved him. Still can't figure that out. And I use "we" meaning "the rest of my crazy society."<br /><br />What's so remarkable about Susan? That she can sing? Or that she's so ordinary looking AND sings like an angel on loan from heaven?<br /><br />Personally, I think this culture is obsesses with the visual. With the birth of MTV back in 1980, video media really did kill all others. Nowadays, mass market success is reserved to those who are both talented and visually appealing. Some success can be had with one or the other. Mostly it's passable talent and beauty rather than amazing talent without the beauty.<br /><br />I wonder how many other amazingly talented people are sitting behind closed doors and unturned rocks. How many watch folks like Susan and sigh, wishing they could have a chance to be <em>really</em> seen.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-32806577860188971832009-04-17T04:10:00.000-07:002009-04-17T04:42:39.000-07:00Working on my fantasy cardI wanted to try my hand at a Cardvaark's challenge so I'm working on a fantasy themed card. It's the princess one. Only problem was that I couldn't think of a good "fantasy" sentiment. So I piddled around with a few other sketches and ideas. I am going to have to do more with the transparency sheets!<br /><br />You always make me smile<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYTmh1Erh4fnq5bxlFCRMohUkxtSkUUr0H0gu_7aIIjYxFWTVJ3ikv9a1fzUCTxJf3JCz71p2wgyeDjvZZ1azkXEJFYqx0QUXwgu-NKBK7EcpYUt5wT8nrps5yjcfpxrXpmnFy1gWFINu3/s1600-h/you+always+make+me+smile.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325616726171799970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 222px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYTmh1Erh4fnq5bxlFCRMohUkxtSkUUr0H0gu_7aIIjYxFWTVJ3ikv9a1fzUCTxJf3JCz71p2wgyeDjvZZ1azkXEJFYqx0QUXwgu-NKBK7EcpYUt5wT8nrps5yjcfpxrXpmnFy1gWFINu3/s320/you+always+make+me+smile.jpg" border="0" /></a> Happy Mother's Day<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmMwSch17nU9HdlJhfHIHXkvD9akgN1TNUy_7HD90T_GlrHQ4fAqgS46xQjWzRxYlEsr3mHz-CWN5ITtzhGVuzmTLpwo9mMcdNXxOVuveg1DnIOdv4OxKMBfgJaWE4-bHgb8on9rW6EcF/s1600-h/happy+mother%27s+day.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325616722049071138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 248px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmMwSch17nU9HdlJhfHIHXkvD9akgN1TNUy_7HD90T_GlrHQ4fAqgS46xQjWzRxYlEsr3mHz-CWN5ITtzhGVuzmTLpwo9mMcdNXxOVuveg1DnIOdv4OxKMBfgJaWE4-bHgb8on9rW6EcF/s320/happy+mother%27s+day.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Happy Birthday Princess<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXVv2Acp_0WgsT2JeqiVGeDohnKtGhiCYmuw6xajn9mHxKYwCQP5fVppXMRsEu2x7qW8w7aOwcJZwRm4Xy5mEHJ3QYprsAgWKEXIlT03-5IJBURy7ZCKdYmza3obWZdd8EkM5IvY1hQPo/s1600-h/happy+birthday+14.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325616721060080786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXVv2Acp_0WgsT2JeqiVGeDohnKtGhiCYmuw6xajn9mHxKYwCQP5fVppXMRsEu2x7qW8w7aOwcJZwRm4Xy5mEHJ3QYprsAgWKEXIlT03-5IJBURy7ZCKdYmza3obWZdd8EkM5IvY1hQPo/s320/happy+birthday+14.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Happy birthday<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIsN9IYO4RpJYnIhl0wFrXTaSXTHIe3ZAc9_EDzcmIhmrkNh5vojQ0wgWsi4yQH7EZt2bboK_IPh05sm9sIIZE7EFEScJDROQfZgb5K8208YEJ1cUPg8fdzKcbmAqsopiOKv-Ye4ZfykAh/s1600-h/happy+birthday+13.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325616717145501618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 231px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIsN9IYO4RpJYnIhl0wFrXTaSXTHIe3ZAc9_EDzcmIhmrkNh5vojQ0wgWsi4yQH7EZt2bboK_IPh05sm9sIIZE7EFEScJDROQfZgb5K8208YEJ1cUPg8fdzKcbmAqsopiOKv-Ye4ZfykAh/s320/happy+birthday+13.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-81682493345570877332009-04-13T07:23:00.000-07:002009-04-13T07:29:58.849-07:00baby cardsSo I've got a stash of cards in my scrap room for all the various and sundry cards needs I have in life. Maybe if I keep this up, it'll be worth having a booth at the craft fair. But for now, I enjoy making them and giving them away.<br /><br /><br />A couple at church are having a baby and we're doing the shower thing. I was thinking it was a boy, but then had a moment's doubt. I realized that I have cards for baby girls and for baby boys, but none for "we don't know yet." So I made these.<br /><br /><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/newbaby1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 317px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 378px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/newbaby1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/newbaby2.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 399px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 245px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/newbaby2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-39389452751324202922009-04-11T17:58:00.000-07:002009-04-11T18:04:07.734-07:00Two new creationsFor the Craft Mad April sketch challenges, both cards and layouts, I created these. It was fun to have a little challenge to get my mojo flowing!<br /><br />Lynn and gramma scrapping:<br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323604027092851586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCFqrKXZbeRYTTlq9iZh80QnpiYBNqZ_bCKEQvoYpCw6PVwy3gyX7Cm_S0RayT8RqDOn1flfdsdCIE1GYCICpLtYYYmichU9thCoOs2Vl9Za8AXKiEvdI7hyphenhyphenpUYEV2JD0EbAAPaaFZvyUY/s320/helper.jpg" border="0" /></p><p>Nina and Lynn:</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUmPP1OEOpzbq0_S1k7nLaY0dRr_fHCU3IUdhM7aTy-y_Nh0cmB89AVcsd7jYprWJfaHIC_oiH5BLZFolNVybENU38U-oqrRNHx1a8Z-eB6_i1LgpA1JDEJEuIDKihnf1mwFTq32tttuhn/s1600-h/delightful.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323604023089190882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUmPP1OEOpzbq0_S1k7nLaY0dRr_fHCU3IUdhM7aTy-y_Nh0cmB89AVcsd7jYprWJfaHIC_oiH5BLZFolNVybENU38U-oqrRNHx1a8Z-eB6_i1LgpA1JDEJEuIDKihnf1mwFTq32tttuhn/s320/delightful.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Friendship card:<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7u26rsgizuSkM_dme_Z_TYrhdsazw1rYL2kk61E5bktc0Re-kYYOwt-FhAx5nHjSTLQz44UiKsMJTGeTEMEMX1vSws59zdFwVAHTnygCTlGo2U3kFXRtttXWqwvu7sNAtH_6TdqjHs7I_/s1600-h/banister+of+life.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323604020563510770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 231px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7u26rsgizuSkM_dme_Z_TYrhdsazw1rYL2kk61E5bktc0Re-kYYOwt-FhAx5nHjSTLQz44UiKsMJTGeTEMEMX1vSws59zdFwVAHTnygCTlGo2U3kFXRtttXWqwvu7sNAtH_6TdqjHs7I_/s320/banister+of+life.jpg" border="0" /></a> Easter card:<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOD0I2oEVVrCqiolUMZq5MVESDJIc1GLeWdEzhQAVcdlhuVct1c4ResivqxR-1qW5seL2kamlGd741Q5XRNq7c7ZN4zmOQd8FkBBZiEdeI2X-qQTvUvEdHhrKB8TDMAYukk5qX3xrrr0Gy/s1600-h/Easter+card.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323604013921438290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 255px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOD0I2oEVVrCqiolUMZq5MVESDJIc1GLeWdEzhQAVcdlhuVct1c4ResivqxR-1qW5seL2kamlGd741Q5XRNq7c7ZN4zmOQd8FkBBZiEdeI2X-qQTvUvEdHhrKB8TDMAYukk5qX3xrrr0Gy/s320/Easter+card.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-58653161217463380202009-04-09T05:53:00.000-07:002009-04-09T06:00:41.927-07:00Black Thursday<div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja1MQmtMi2aO97-ZtxAVv27JN-Z-i4gOFbcUdl7r4gN4rn-mRb8FdCRnUoAg8o1OgHG_xpvmZqCNPC5N-hx6Djc8wJHFasyEYmjC-rva4i88saWB2-YHKJNzicijRjIjNEwhTa1IGc7MKo/s1600-h/images.jpg"></a> Not a good day in the Martin household. Mike got laid off this morning. We've been through this before. 7 years ago. But it sucked then and it sucks now. We've been without insurance before, but at least Nick is covered now. And he's got unemployment that's not too bad. But I'm worried about my parents. My dad might get hit with this one. And it would not be good for them to be without insurance. At least my mom is done with her chemo.<br /><br /></div><div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-57225787689123594372009-03-23T11:34:00.000-07:002009-03-24T06:32:18.490-07:00Mother's Day cards<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 410px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 258px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/mothersday1.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/mothersday2.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 352px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 422px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/mothersday2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/mothersday3.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 430px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 259px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/mothersday3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-82927459689702740622009-03-23T11:31:00.000-07:002009-03-23T11:34:30.767-07:00New baby cards<a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/ournewestangel2.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 373px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 417px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/ournewestangel2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/ournewestangel.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 415px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 477px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/ournewestangel.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/babygirl-1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 404px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 475px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/babygirl-1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/babyboy-1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 521px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/babyboy-1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-59788535089248533892009-03-23T11:19:00.001-07:002009-03-23T11:31:19.848-07:00Thinking of You/ Friendship/generic cards<p align="center"><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/thinkingofyoucancer.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 305px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 438px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/thinkingofyoucancer.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><br /><br /><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/thinkingofyou-1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 319px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 372px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/thinkingofyou-1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/thinkingofyou3-1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 327px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 437px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/thinkingofyou3-1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/thinkingofyou2.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 465px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 307px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/thinkingofyou2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/sendinghappythoughts.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 453px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 293px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/sendinghappythoughts.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/picturecard2.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 462px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 280px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/picturecard2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/picturecard3.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 453px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 277px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/picturecard3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/picturecard1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 453px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 301px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/picturecard1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/justsayinghello.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 432px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 282px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/justsayinghello.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/justsayinghello2.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 441px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 280px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/justsayinghello2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/hello.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 361px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 468px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/hello.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/justdroppingyoualine.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 365px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 445px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/justdroppingyoualine.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/goodfriends.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 330px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 432px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/goodfriends.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/birthdaycard.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 435px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 277px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/birthdaycard.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-90595790175248195042009-03-23T11:06:00.000-07:002009-03-23T11:39:07.121-07:00Birthday cardsI've been making cards lately like a crazy person! I'm stockpiling so that I won't have to dash to the scraproom to make a card an hour before leaving for the party!<br /><br /><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/happybirthday9.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 271px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 345px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/happybirthday9.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/happybirthday8.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 429px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 271px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/happybirthday8.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/happybirthday7.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 385px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 251px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/happybirthday7.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/happybirthday5.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 373px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/happybirthday5.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/happybirthday6.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 310px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 461px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/happybirthday6.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/happybirthday4.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 425px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 263px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/happybirthday4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/happybirthday3.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 336px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 393px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/happybirthday3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/happybirthday2.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 296px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 393px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/cards/happybirthday2.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-8121243744939071042009-02-20T06:40:00.001-08:002009-02-20T06:46:18.243-08:00My latest obsession<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1xxWghdR3I-MA9PTOYe_TipYFhZZTv5EgtkFZ_zSOlQSsNq4lUGIl4G2XM_hI8bz0Wgt-HvLEmMk-3jOSdIzVhhGUbCHaKidUuWkEPvgGO0QlmPhQqqAcyydC7m4ENrfwoBnpQ4CELiSm/s1600-h/world_of_warcraft1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304889818041506274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 256px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1xxWghdR3I-MA9PTOYe_TipYFhZZTv5EgtkFZ_zSOlQSsNq4lUGIl4G2XM_hI8bz0Wgt-HvLEmMk-3jOSdIzVhhGUbCHaKidUuWkEPvgGO0QlmPhQqqAcyydC7m4ENrfwoBnpQ4CELiSm/s320/world_of_warcraft1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbr1XvKMJUBjsxJII2BKrJPzjmDH_F6uuSOJsO3YUhgrFYLycejvf4ZxzE89R5S-m19W5DkaJuItPvfB_OTywMGLb2xPt1yAGstxPAAVF4SaZWrXvl8PfU6yFU8EzIhdBqbP4JaWA5DQC2/s1600-h/WarlockHelmSeasonHumanFemale.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304889813259300306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 256px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbr1XvKMJUBjsxJII2BKrJPzjmDH_F6uuSOJsO3YUhgrFYLycejvf4ZxzE89R5S-m19W5DkaJuItPvfB_OTywMGLb2xPt1yAGstxPAAVF4SaZWrXvl8PfU6yFU8EzIhdBqbP4JaWA5DQC2/s320/WarlockHelmSeasonHumanFemale.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMK_BYkLiDtFCjYaDN4L87maXCPVjvVKvBPRnspxqn808EmJp8CyKJXbvbqmO6tuxGppdbgjGa8ds1qId5jyhyphenhypheniTox0Y0Ubz5yxtta-5IJn4CfdXE0axa-5NKy4biR5PeHrqczwN2iQHfM/s1600-h/untitled+wow.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304889810575979362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMK_BYkLiDtFCjYaDN4L87maXCPVjvVKvBPRnspxqn808EmJp8CyKJXbvbqmO6tuxGppdbgjGa8ds1qId5jyhyphenhypheniTox0Y0Ubz5yxtta-5IJn4CfdXE0axa-5NKy4biR5PeHrqczwN2iQHfM/s320/untitled+wow.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8wpkVYqwIuuA27EOV6hmCWkdUfv3L8VmgpU5mo6rrb35dRhCURe69zVgg2Xbx1dFc0dP49eqEjKTNW9PYoapuHFrJdbLba5U8bnTH7RK5kewGj_Y5JDP1mDI7xSREJsfD5VTQW4wYtia/s1600-h/117157_f520.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304889811245580626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 258px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8wpkVYqwIuuA27EOV6hmCWkdUfv3L8VmgpU5mo6rrb35dRhCURe69zVgg2Xbx1dFc0dP49eqEjKTNW9PYoapuHFrJdbLba5U8bnTH7RK5kewGj_Y5JDP1mDI7xSREJsfD5VTQW4wYtia/s320/117157_f520.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><div>World of Warcraft.</div><div> </div><div>Last Christmas, my oldest son suggested that since I liked another PC role playing game, I would really enjoy this one. He tantalized me with a 10-day free trial and the promise of playing with him at some future date. </div><div> </div><div>It took less than those 10 days for me to become unbelievably hooked. </div><div> </div><div>What a great stress relief it is for me! I have to spend so much of my day saying the right thing when the needed thing gets bit back. But I can go home and kill - as my granddaughter puts it - "bad dudes." And kill them I do!</div><div> </div><div>But what's even cooler is that on occasion, I can do a quest with my son. We can chat while we're both playing, even when we're not playing together. That's pretty cool. </div><div> </div><div>But so is my - as of today - level 41 human warlock!<br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-14170936679687956662009-02-10T07:18:00.000-08:002009-02-10T07:26:16.544-08:00and now for something fun...Fill this out about your Senior Year in High School<br />The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be!!<br /><br />1. Did you date someone from your school? yep - and eventually married him<br /><br />2. Did you marry someone from your high school? yes<br /><br />3. Did you car pool to school? nope - I usually walked<br /><br />4. What kind of car did you have? None.<br /><br />5. What kind of car do you have now? a Pontiac Bonneville that is in dire need of retirement<br /><br />6. It's Friday night....What would you do now? fast food dinner, grocery shopping and home to watch TV<br /><br />7. It is Friday night...where were you then? probably watching TV<br /><br />8. What kind of job did you have in high school? none<br /><br />9. What kind of job do you do now? children's mental health<br /><br />10. Were you a party animal? um....no<br /><br />11. Were you considered a flirt? depends on who you asked. My shy sister would say yes. I'd say no.<br /><br />12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Choir two years in high school<br /><br />13. Were you a nerd? no, just awkward<br /><br />14. Did you get suspended or expelled? heaven's no!<br /><br />15. Can you sing the fight song? Did we have a fight song? nope<br /><br />16. Who was/were your favorite teacher? didn't have one<br /><br />17. Where did you sit during lunch? somewhere in the cafeteria with a couple of friends<br /><br />18. What was your school's full name? Wellington High School<br /><br />19. When did you graduate? 1987<br /><br />20. If you could go back and do it again, would you? I would not go through that again for all the money in the world!<br /><br />21. Did you have fun at Prom? no<br /><br />22. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom? frequently<br /><br />23. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? dunno. I skipped the 5, 10 and 15 but went to the 20. I had more fun than I expected I would and might just go to the 25, assuming we have one.<br /><br />24. Do you still talk to people from school? I work with a couple and still see a few others on occasion<br /><br />25. What are/were your school's colors? crimson and whiteUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-2167390266885187542009-02-10T07:10:00.000-08:002009-02-10T07:18:41.097-08:00Who asks you the hard questions?So, our pastor talked this last week about discipleship a little bit. He talked about thinking about who discipled you and who you're discipling. It made me think a little bit.<br /><br />No one. I have never discipled anyone because I wouldn't know how to do it. No one ever discipled me. No one walked with me to show me the way. No one came alongside me and helped me find my path. Not even my parents. I love them, don't get me wrong. But the memories I have are of stumbling around in the dark trying to find my own way. Often getting it wrong.<br /><br />The logical person, I suppose, to ask me those hard questions would be my husband. But he doesn't. His main goal in life is to be friends with everyone and never hurt anyone's feelings. My dear friend Drea is probably the person most likely to ask me a question I don't want to answer - but need to.<br /><br />Maybe this is something I should be more intentional in seeking out?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-14989299774752686272009-01-20T06:31:00.001-08:002009-01-20T07:30:14.441-08:00Beware!! Whine to follow!!!!!!!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8atSaxxtiLOFw-ZOyJU8lFVtDmdO3VGVXxLCeurcXtErzvtlI6Cxap7is3lxUaKqwxeiUNm5-kyHk0__Ni4Qv7Sdg0SYa_u-Q5j_pZ4v5SeVL5mIE3Zkzl1LxfUwnc5G-5sMAbDYXkmcl/s1600-h/crying-main_Full.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293398627558591922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 291px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8atSaxxtiLOFw-ZOyJU8lFVtDmdO3VGVXxLCeurcXtErzvtlI6Cxap7is3lxUaKqwxeiUNm5-kyHk0__Ni4Qv7Sdg0SYa_u-Q5j_pZ4v5SeVL5mIE3Zkzl1LxfUwnc5G-5sMAbDYXkmcl/s320/crying-main_Full.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Okay...you've been warned. I feel like such a crybaby.<br /><br />On Saturday morning, I had an awful gallbladder attack. I've never had such pain. It is my new standard for pain levels. And I have a high tolerance for pain. Guess not. So surgery is scheduled for Monday.<br /><br />Then, on Sunday, I was cutting onions for burgers and cut my right index finger.<br /><br />And on Monday, I slammed my left middle finger in the front door.<br /><br />*wailing and gnashing of teeth*<br /><br />I am now on a health drive. I'm going to get and feel healthy if it kills me.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Okay...maybe that shouldn't be my ending point. I don't know how I'm going to go about it, but I'm going to get healthy.<br /><br />Okay. I feel better now. Thanks for listening.<br /><br />Oh...and because I have only marginal use of my dominant hand, I haven't been able to scrap for the Winter Wonderland Crop over at Scrapadilly. I haven't even been able to upload my creations from Friday nite at Drea's. *sigh* Maybe the next one!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-77350269236310751722009-01-06T06:37:00.000-08:002009-01-06T06:44:39.426-08:00He said it firstI have, through painful experience, learned not to take things for granted. Today, when I was dropping him off for school, Nick said "I love you" first. Maybe you've never been in the "mom" places I have - and I would say you're lucky - but where I'm at, that was a special moment I'll hold on to for a while.<br /><br />I've made some decisions for my life. One of my goals for this year is to be more creative. To not wait until I "have time" or "feel like it" but to work to keep those creative juices flowing regularly.<br /><br />I've also made it a goal to get healthier. That's not going to be easy, but starting with eating healthier and working in some exercise I'm going to try to be a size healthier by the end of this year.<br /><br />I've also decided to work on my family. I do a lot of things that get in the way of being a wife and mom. I've told my pastor that I need to quit teaching my class. I'll be praying that God will send a replacement music leader so I can step down from that as well. It will be hard not doing those things - I do love them! - but I need to focus on some somewhat more important things. I want to see Nick healthy. And leaving him to his own devices while I'm off doing all those other things is not the way to get there!<br /><br />I'm a work in progress. I just want to be a little more deliberate and intentional about the "progress!"Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-28932730547058229872009-01-05T10:55:00.001-08:002009-01-05T11:02:58.338-08:00Scrapping like crazyWell, I have a tidy little bank of $20 or so in my Scrap to Spend account. I have so enjoyed getting back into the art and craft of papercrafting. I really missed it. I don't have any lofty goals. I don't necessarily want to be published. I am not looking to join any design teams. I just want to enjoy a fun and rewarding hobby. And give nice handmade cards to friends and family. That's about it. Not that it wouldn't be nice to be published or to be on a DT somewhere. But those are rewards for pursuing the craft. Not the goal itself.<br /><br />I got a chance (after fighting off a very persistant bug) to go scrap at Drea's. I love scrapping with her. It's sort of like exercizing with a partner rather than alone. We don't spend terribly much time chatting, which I'm never good at anyways, and she always gives great advice when I'm stumped on what to do next. As a result, I got a ton of stuff done! See the gallery at <a href="http://www.scrapadilly.com/">www.scrapadilly.com</a> if you're interested!<br /><br />My goal is still just to scrap consistently. I want to do four layouts a month. Or a pair of cards for one layout. Just that many. Not twenty or thirty layouts and lots of projects. Just four. That's do-able!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-49932809556371666582009-01-01T10:20:00.001-08:002009-01-01T10:26:53.094-08:00Scrap to Spend in 2009I'm going to keep track of my different things for the Scrap to Spend challenge at <a href="http://www.scrapadilly.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2589">http://www.scrapadilly.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2589</a> for Scrapadilly this year.<br /><br />Here are the ways to earn Scrappy Bucks:<br />For everyone layout you make you get $1 in the Scrappy Account.<br />Cards are worth $.50<br />Altered items are worth $5<br />Entire albums of at least 20 layouts are worth $10<br />2 pages in small albums count for $1 in your account.<br />For every 100 posts, add $1 to your scrappy account.<br />For every thread you start, add $.05 to your scrappy account.<br />If you are chosen for the Creation of the Day: add $1 to your scrappy account.<br />If you do a product review you must upload pictures of you using that product to the gallery. For this you will receive $1.<br />For every referral to our site.........that means if a new member joins and puts your username as the referral, you will receive $1.<br />For special crops, I may from time to time offer bonus items for you to add to your scrappy account.<br /><br />And here are my running totals:<br />layouts $1:<br />cards $.50:<br />altered items $5:<br />whole 12x12 albums (20 layouts): $10<br />small albums $1/2 pages:<br />every 100 posts $1 (starting post total 707):<br />COTD $1:<br />Product review w/pictures $1:<br />referrals $1:<br />other bonuses:Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-90066056031105917412008-12-21T07:09:00.000-08:002008-12-21T07:20:05.064-08:00Fifteen years ago today......I gave birth to this.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7YbNcpfhvbYL1P5eClLorCA9zMsMCjv7vFtPBGmWKC8Vt9LBu75Vlz_rcu8AMqGMrkLIa9HL2YfHH3CuOZq60jOvQIaiMmAMNarDR2LnrCDOa4LipMb8nJhtRjxfiHKry7b3mZ3EThHc5/s1600-h/evil.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282262714426137586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7YbNcpfhvbYL1P5eClLorCA9zMsMCjv7vFtPBGmWKC8Vt9LBu75Vlz_rcu8AMqGMrkLIa9HL2YfHH3CuOZq60jOvQIaiMmAMNarDR2LnrCDOa4LipMb8nJhtRjxfiHKry7b3mZ3EThHc5/s320/evil.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdIMgfXD4XTZ0Ho940-uIM6ggfxfN3qt36jadaEiygu6jM41iQmeZN6IuHV1xE9zFkVHkF21Vk9z6T-bTDYqdgau2CHxepNUqizYo3az10xhIszHGSOoVPhmvlkOqkjP2ftzYgamZkkOm/s1600-h/005+(4).JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282262703275101650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdIMgfXD4XTZ0Ho940-uIM6ggfxfN3qt36jadaEiygu6jM41iQmeZN6IuHV1xE9zFkVHkF21Vk9z6T-bTDYqdgau2CHxepNUqizYo3az10xhIszHGSOoVPhmvlkOqkjP2ftzYgamZkkOm/s320/005+(4).JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbFiO1eo6JKFcm-tEI0jHM7XKJNTzJLgU66nEjmhjJmNpj7-OIwHv4BYP7xu4Tb8NnSVjjd39tKb0b3fyCW0Krh0Qj_RO2NPBoJAw__K9g_GxauuSGwORMeqTObXrQnaur7jHYfX3Mv4Zc/s1600-h/044.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282262696996375586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbFiO1eo6JKFcm-tEI0jHM7XKJNTzJLgU66nEjmhjJmNpj7-OIwHv4BYP7xu4Tb8NnSVjjd39tKb0b3fyCW0Krh0Qj_RO2NPBoJAw__K9g_GxauuSGwORMeqTObXrQnaur7jHYfX3Mv4Zc/s320/044.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEi_NfjaZ-xARULvtJBTgu0drnYKjEH249v6XDJ2jrDD7PPpzH7S0ayup2gKmmTLs6vlqa0yyiuKEmQno31kIjdanEeygdm9AiZQcyBlfgupYBDwTx-AQ1i76t1s1HunaiBiP-4OOtzY5w/s1600-h/005+(2).JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282262689376448722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEi_NfjaZ-xARULvtJBTgu0drnYKjEH249v6XDJ2jrDD7PPpzH7S0ayup2gKmmTLs6vlqa0yyiuKEmQno31kIjdanEeygdm9AiZQcyBlfgupYBDwTx-AQ1i76t1s1HunaiBiP-4OOtzY5w/s320/005+(2).JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Well, he didn't look like this <em>then</em>. He was a tiny little baby that had been desparately wanted and tried for (for a very long time!). He was doted on by his sisters and brother. He has been the beneficiary of all my maternal guilt for many years. We always had a very close bond, Nick and I. I find it sad that as he's grown up, he has felt the need to break away from that bond. Maybe someday - it is my prayer - that we get that bond back.<br /><div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-10015339434857148422008-12-03T08:26:00.000-08:002008-12-03T09:59:57.878-08:00Never too late to be thankful!Reading Drea's "What I'm thankful for" post reminded me that I did no blogging last week either!<br /><br />There really are lots of things to be thankful for. They're usually the things that I take for granted, though.<br /><br />Such as:<br /><br />...when I gripe about my work. I'm thankful that I have a job and that it's pretty secure. There are so many folks in this area whose jobs are not secure. Or they don't have a job. Or their job doesn't pay enough.<br /><br />...when I am not happy about washing dishes. I'm thankful that we have enough food to eat.<br /><br />...when I don't want to clean my house. I'm thankful that I have a home.<br /><br />I'm so grateful that God has placed good friends in my life. I'm grateful that He's given me fun hobbies to enjoy and friends to enjoy them with. I am thankful for a relatively healthy family. I'm thankful for people to love and people who love me.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-44908064091217489342008-11-25T09:59:00.000-08:002008-11-25T10:05:31.736-08:00A high compliment<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4JwhAMBjHYHxYbVtmokr0VBWB-TZVpDYjuk6lktiVKZR4W5W5cYLkZmi1xmeyc35dd8sP_OpoG3PZIDO9zyn2JbBquashIe6U4Ndx_ZF2IKZlMlVOyuYU-Gy228khyphenhyphenY7RVG8yI180kX3/s1600-h/44a.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272657749501592050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 217px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4JwhAMBjHYHxYbVtmokr0VBWB-TZVpDYjuk6lktiVKZR4W5W5cYLkZmi1xmeyc35dd8sP_OpoG3PZIDO9zyn2JbBquashIe6U4Ndx_ZF2IKZlMlVOyuYU-Gy228khyphenhyphenY7RVG8yI180kX3/s320/44a.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>My daughter came over last night and asked me "How do you love a child that's not yours?"<br /><br />Maybe I should clarify that. My step-daughter, who I raised from the age of 4, came over last night and asked "How do you love a child that's not yours."<br /><br />To be honest, I'd taken my melatonin already and I was on the fast track to la-la land. When I woke up, that was the thought on my mind and it's stayed with me for a while now.<br /><br />I gave her advice that I think is sound. I told her to do the things she knows to do to parent a child. Eventually, the feelings would come.<br /><br />What I didn't share was this: I loved her because she was part of Mike. And Mike was part of me. The other half of my soul. How could I not have feelings for those two little girls that came with him?It wasn't easy. I didn't have the experience of carrying them in my own body and birthing them. I didn't have the history of their infancies.<br /><br />It was hard. At first. But one day, I realized that God was not going to cut me any slack because "step" was part of my title. In God's eyes, I was "mother." I had a responsibility before God to these two girls. I couldn't tell you the day I stopped thinking of them as my step-daughters and started just seeing my daughters. But I suppose it was around the time I started staying up all night with them when they were sick. When I baked their birthday cakes. When I noticed my personality characteristics coming out in their lives.<br /><br />I don't think Alex realizes what it meant to me for her to ask that question last night. I don't think she realizes that was the highest compliment she's ever paid me.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-57849841307750071302008-10-30T17:53:00.001-07:002008-11-04T08:08:45.820-08:00My younguns<div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div>Recently, I had the pleasure of having all of my kids at the house at once. Doesn't happen often! I took full advantage of it and made them all stand around and get their picture taken. I haven't processed these images, but I wanted to show them off.<br /><br /><br />My four:<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264834817958908914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaG19Lf2NSNpp5i4HDqhxzIHuNYOEqm-uK96TMNs51IS0fqluHpnfBAaI9aYPDuZzqr44tuaLgf_get-ziohU8GZnbfqGELQdsYtqU1AKuRYCr59_iC1q8offU_RSbhs-CJW6d4te-IBNe/s320/005.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><br />add in the husband/fiance:<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264834893384070706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFfk_ITrMJRKd8j3S1yCc-cputWFFduhdSQ3WjM68oxKkP2IA9OpZgowozCRjs6ayZVYHit9XgwyRTXQlRCXtJIqp4kyhdoPDeD1U4aBkRIOJQMds83z83UoVVbnot0YzIo2mkNwvxGok/s320/013.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br />add in the grandkids:<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264834972659556226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj-xxJ5ia5oboWNXXnryix6EmNQPjBWYfamLxIuI-RoEzfKD57bOtGRVIohR5_zZ4XTg-Q_7RTUS_2RHWFekrY1l2nM-1W0sp7givd64cy1DAyAC0X2CsjfZBqmtpeKjm24ILqAzu1ccbq/s320/016.JPG" border="0" /></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-24750970667223620142008-10-30T15:20:00.001-07:002008-10-30T15:24:50.689-07:00This was a little surprisingWell, as you may know from reading this blog, I tend to believe that men and women are created fully equal and that there is no job or calling or ministry that should be decided based on gender alone. I suspect that hearing "You were supposed to be a boy" all my life from my mom has something to do with why I'm a little sensitive on the gender issue, but I digress.<br /><br />I ran across a website, a church's website that shows videos of past sermons. But it's from a church whose pastor, Mark Driscoll, that believes differently than I do on the gender issue. I've always held him in some contempt. But when I listened to one sermon on birth control, I liked it. Then I listened to more in that particular series. I really liked them. I've started on another series and I can safely say that I have enjoyed every sermon I've heard from him. And I've enjoyed his messages as I've rarely enjoyed sermons before.<br /><br />This is going to be one of my resources when I feel I need a little extra. I'm happy to provide you all with a link to the first series of sermons I heard "Religion Saved and Nine Other Misconceptions." It's a wonderful series that might really help you like it helped me.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/religionsaves">http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/religionsaves</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-40739688846073315512008-10-24T06:28:00.000-07:002008-10-24T07:02:00.262-07:00When it rains......it pours.<br /><br /><br />Mike had a particularly hard day at work this week. He came home exhausted and worn out. And with a nice souvenier: an umbillical hernia. Surgery with two to four weeks of recovery time is NOT what we need right before Christmas. At least it's a work-related injury so I don't have to fret over the medical bills. I have to worry about the "workman's comp doctor" sending him back to work to soon, but I'll just trust God there.<br /><br />So, I've been following this gender debate on the blogosphere. There seems to be this rising force in American christianity that would have us go back to the first century for women's rights. In the extreme right we have folks who believe that men are the head not only of the home and church but all of life. Women shouldn't vote. Daughters should be the "helpmeet" of their fathers until they get married. Women should not use birth control at all and have as many babies as possible. Children should be homeschooled and daughters should never be exposed to such terrible influences such as found on college campuses.<br /><br />I kid you not.<br /><br />Look up Vision Forum, Doug Phillips' blog and other very google-able keywords that are in the above narrative.<br /><br />On the other extreme you will find folks who believe in complete equality. No leadership happens based soley on gender. All men do not have authority over all women. Women can and should be ordained as elders/pastors. They also don't believe that husbands are in authority over wives.<br /><br />Somewhere in the middle is the truth. That's what I believe. I think that honest, God-fearing, God-loving believers who self-identify with both sides (complimentarian and egalitarian) can have happy marriages. And, frankly, those believers on boths sides of the fence who are living their marriages out are indistinguishable from the other. You just can't always tell unless one of them tells you.<br /><br />I say all that to say this: there are a few on the egalitarian side (my side, for what it's worth) that I follow. I enjoy reading the Complegalitarian blog. I read the Christians for Biblical Equality blog. I read Wade Burelson's blog. (I read the "other side" too, btw, just to see what's being said). But there are some on that "other side" that I tend to stay away from and demonize. Marc Driscoll is one of those.<br /><br />He's the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. He's known for wearing jeans and t-shirts and hoodies instead of three-piece suits when he preaches. He's known for his killer wit and mocking of just about every sort of group. He's unapologetic on his beliefs and has no trouble going toe-to-toe with anyone. He's been labeled as a mysoginist by Christian Feminists.<br /><br />During a discussion on abortion, the topic of birth control came up. Someone on a blog linked this sermon:<br /><a href="http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/religionsaves/birth-control">http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/religionsaves/birth-control</a><br /><br />I listened to it.<br /><br />I changed my mind.<br /><br />In another sermon in that series, he talks about doctrines that should divide us (such as the trinity or salvation through Jesus Christ alone). But other doctrines are not as important and we can agree to disagree. I've decided that it's a good thing to call Marc Driscoll my brother in Christ.<br /><br />If you get a chance, and have no beverages in front of you (spew danger), check out this sermon:<br /><a href="http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/religionsaves/humor">http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/religionsaves/humor</a><br /><br />My sides still hurt from this one!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2252623654911754302.post-87275500589872417562008-10-06T17:38:00.000-07:002008-10-07T13:13:21.937-07:00Cute as buttonsI'm still trying to get a new pic of Lynn but here's the latest of my grandkids:<br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/005.jpg" border="0" /><br /><a href="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/159.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/159.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><br /><div></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/tamimartin87/167.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0