In the Storm

Did you know?

Did you know...

I love swimming

I am a college graduate at 43

I love my job as a meteorologist working in aviation weather

I scrapbook for my kids...and their kids...for memory keeping

I love to laugh

Tacos (my tacos) are my favorite food

Jalepenos is my favorite restaurant

Green is my favorite color - but I sure do love my ocean blue scraproom

Diet Coke please

I'm a values voter

I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and my Lord and Savior

My favorite author is Dee Henderson and Charles Martin is a close second

I dream of visiting Nova Scotia

I've skied the Swiss Alps (well, I've been on skies and went down them)

I hate snakes

I love to cook

My best friend is Jeff

I love Scrabble

...just a bit about me on 29 December 2006...Susan

Santa was good!

My own Santa got me a Canon Digital Rebel XTi. It's a sweet baby to say the least. Here are some point and shoot shots (because no way have I learned what this sweet thing can do yet). I'm still giddy (and will be for a long time) about opening this gift and I'm sure my jaw dropped to the floor. Ella on Christmas Day

1st photo with the Canon Digital Rebel XTi

4 Generations

Christmas List

Christmas Cookies - Check

1 present for each person in my family - Check

Christmas Carols playing in the background - Check

Tree lite - Check

Stocking stuffers ready to be stuffed - Check

Homemade Cinnamon Roll recipe out for Christmas morning breakfast - Check

Christmas movies out and ready to be watched - Check

Family gathered - Check

Christmas Dinner recipes - Check

One Bible to read the Christmas story - Check

Thursday Thirteen - 13 Storms of Life that I have weathered

My thoughts should be all about Christmas right now. And in a way they are. My thoughts are about Christ  who is Christmas. It is Christ who enabled me to get where I am - to weather the storms of life. Christ, that little baby born in Bethlehem, came to live a perfect life, came to die a tragic death just for me. He is my Savior - again and again - forever and forever.

1. Ashley screamed, "Mom, it's a red light". I swerved two lanes to miss broadsiding the car in front of me. Miraculously there where no other cars on those two lanes.

2. I weathered the storm of a 6 year abusive, adulterous marriage

3. I weathered being overweight in the military for a season

4. Finding out I was going to Korea and could not take my girls with me. And spent a year there.

5. Little to no food in my kitchen cabinets - people from church would invite my girls and I to dinner or bags of food would be left on my doorstep

6. Weathered the seperations from Jeff due to deployments, to war, to war-torn countries

7. The saying goodbyes again and again, moving again and again due to the military

8. Weathered Jeff working at the church (sometimes Christ just removes the situation all together - thank you Jesus)

9. My daughter tells me she's pregnant and she's not married

10. The pain of death of loved ones (and every time I think about them)

11. Betrayal

12. An unprofessional working relationship that He healed when I submited to Him

13. The rocky roads of marriage when baggage is around

I can share these because I may have been In the Storm for a season but Christ saw me through each one. Some storms He removed all together. Some I still am in. Some He walked with me the whole way through it.

Thanks you Lord, for my Christmas!

Don't ya hate it; Don't ya love it

when one of your sons is grounded. To keep us from having to deal with this the next 9 years we are trying to nip it in the butt now. If the boys forget their homework at school (how convenient is that) their punishment is grounding. So they don't think they get time free and clear because they didn't bring their homework home. I think it's going to work out well. Unfortunately Jarrod's on the edge of the bed this time.

Don't ya love it! Gift giving that is. I can't wait until my loved ones open their presents on Christmas. That is one of the most fun parts of Christmas - watching their faces and responses to the gifts you've given them. Everyone is getting way cool gifts this year too. We have scaled way down these past couple of years and only give one gift from each person. Still five gifts rocks! Plus there is always grandparents, etc... and those unexpected ones from people like Daughter #4 Stacia and her boyfriend Jessie, our mail lady (even if it's just candy canes - what amazing thoughtfulness) and our extended family.

Don't ya love it: Granddaughters! So precious in our sight. Here's my little priss Ella Babella (not quite a month old)

Christmas Gifts

I made a few of my Christmas gifts. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of one of them. I took white wooden letters a spelled out names and then decorated them using scrapbooking paper and embellishments. The S A N D Y is for Sandy W. She's my bible study partner, small group host, sometimes Curves partner, long-time friend. The B E L L is for my older sister Sandy. I decorated it with Bees because she has bees in her kitchen and dining room. I made P A U L A for my younger sister and G E E R for my parents wedding anniversary but didn't take pictures of those two words. I have J O Y  to make a Christmas decoration for us and S U S A N for my scraproom. I really enjoy making these things.

Don't you just love Christmas gifts! I sure like giving them...

Today

I slept away the morning and into afternoon - I am on mid shifts (10pm - 6am).

I had the last week of bible study with my friend Sandy. I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed study with Sandy. We finished Beth Moore's 'Daniel'. If you have opportunity to do a bible study I recommend ANY of Beth Moore's. I'm so excited that I am registered for one of her conferences.

I gave Sandy W. here Christmas present. I'll post a picture next post but I'm at work now and don't have access to my pictures. She loved her gift. I enjoyed making it.

I finished my sisters Paula and Sandy's Christmas gift and my Mom and Dad's anniversary gift.

We rented a vehicle for Mom (and to take to FL this weekend) to have while she is visiting.

See - not much to my day.  Susan

A Few of My Favorite Things

You will found out bits and pieces of me if you read this. I have scrapped an "I love" 50 things page several years ago. Interesting what remains some of my favorite things, things I love and what I might leave off...and no I'm not going for the fifty things list but just a few (well maybe more than a few!):

My homemade Tacos (hey, it is Taco Tuesday)

Jesus Christ

Bibles Studies (esp. Beth Moore)

Scrapbooking

Meteorology

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Mate Creamer

Swimming

The color green (but I adore my scrap room colors - imagine the ocean!)

Flannel pajamas and flannel sheets

Yahtzee (on the computer)

historical Charleston

Red Velvet Cake

Dates with my husband

our military

Reading

Cherry Walnut Bars

Snow

Thunderstorms

Mel, Mark, Sidnie, and Blake (you know who you are)

my small group

Savannah Christian Church

my family (no - this list is not necessarily in order)

Baby Blue VW Convertable Beetle

Long Awaited Scraproom

98% done. Just some finishing touches that will be seamless to anyone else but me. I thought I'd share my room at this point because I am soooooo excited about it.

Love the colors of my room. They are ocean colors to me. My desk is from target and the shelves are block and boards painted black. The turquise bins are from Walmart. The turquise and lime green picture frames from Target. The Ocean Blue and Willow large boxes, picture boxes, small boxes and 12x12 paper holders are from Karen Foster Design which can be purchased at scrapbookpaper.com (but I think they aren't making any more)

The little lunch pail bins were pastel colors and Christmas colors so I painted them to match the room (I love that I was able to reuse them that way)

The bins on the right shelves of my desk were the inspiration colors for the entire room

My ribbon holders are Ball canning jars - love love love this storage for ribbon

Some wall art. You can find close ups of these altered clipboards at twopeasinabucket.com under user suebug. They say YOU... INSPIRE... ME... TO... CREATE

Wall display using cardstock

Sometimes...

you just have write whatever is on your mind. Yesterday my oldest daughter got married. It was a very nice evening - very relaxing and joyous. My son-in-laws family were there and they are very dear people. My little Ella babella is so cute. Yah, I call her that sometimes. My own special, silly name. She sleeps, eats, and poops - as Jeff says it.

We are babysitting a fish for our daughter number 4, Stacia McCoy. She's not really our daughter but like our daughter. We love her. Daughter number 3 is Mel Hurst(and son-in-law number 1 is Mark, her hubby). No Mel isn't really our daughter either. Daughter number 5 is Kim Gannaway. What a joy all of them have been to our lives. Jeff added the numbers - makes me laugh - but I know who he means when he uses them

My scraproom is still not done but the light is at the end of the tunnell. Can't wait.

Just had bible study with Sandy. We are finishing up the study of Daniel - I sure love bible study with Sandy. We have wonderful conversation. There is never an uncomfortable laul - we'll never a laul for that matter. I am also in a bible study with my dear friend Lori, whom I love very much. We are studying David - I'm so excited.

I have a dinner date with my hubby tonight - adore our dates. People look at us so funny when we tell them we are on a date, yet we've been married for over 12 years. Think there might be something to those dates...

Why can't I just workout...

My favorite Christmas carol is 'Do you hear what I hear' as sung by Third Day - or my mom.

Our Christmas gift giving for the last couple years is 'one gift from each person' - this sure has taken the stress out of Christmas and returned us somewhat to the season of giving.

Just some thoughts down.