Fire alarms and Smoke

Wednesday morning I was sleeping in, next to my three year old son who had climbed in my bed early that morning and fallen back asleep. I was only half awake at this time because I knew my son was in my bed and my oldest daughter was already up as well, playing quietly next to my bed (she's so sweet to let mommy sleep a little longer :).

But WOOZERS! I didn't expect this surprise!

I was jolted from my sleep - as were my little ones - by two fire alarms screaming at the same time!!! And jumped up to see that the two kids in my room were okay and I didn't see any flames (via my daughter or even my son playing with something they shouldn't). I surveyed the room further to see if anything electrical was smoking because there was already plenty of smoke to smell and even more growing to see!

I saw nothing after looking quickly around the room while telling the kids to follow mommy. I grabbed them and my laptop (the only thing we know to grab in a fire - it's were all my pictures are) and shuffled them to the front room where the smoke was no so bad.

I asked them to wait in the front room while I then went to get my littlest one out of the room she was in by her lonesome. This part scared me because I still didn't know where the smoke was coming from and her door was closed. She wasn't crying and there wasn't smoke coming from her room, so I went right in and got her out of her crib!

I noticed then that the smoke was also not as bad in her room as it was in mine, but it was still worse than the front room. I grabbed my purse, my cell phone and some clothes for the kids and I stuck them outside on the ground with my laptop while I called my husband.

OF COARSE - for once - he wasn't answering his phone, so I called my neighbor down the way - no answer... then I called them both one more time and started to look for the number to the apartment manager's office. Josh called me back and then, I started to panic about the smoke and not knowing why it was there or where it was coming from.

So he got off the phone with me to call our friend that lives in the same complex and I called the manager's office. In no time our friend was there (half asleep) and a maintenance man as well. PRAISE THE LORD, someone to help :).

They both went inside and decided they couldn't tell were it was coming from either until the maintenance guy went into the attic and said that the motor blew to my central heating - fun!

I had already turned the heater off on my way out and the maintenance guy opened the windows. The smoke alarms stopped screaming and the smoke was clearing out, but the smell was still terrible! I knew I would try my hardest not to stay in the house that day with the kids, because now we would be without heat, with ALL windows open and a NASTY electrical fire type smell! Well we hung out in the front room (where it wasn't so bad) most of the day in a blanket watching movies till we went to church that evening.

After church we went to stay the night at "Uncle Joely's" house... we hung out there most of Thursday with his wife and baby. When we got home they had used an air freshener "bomb" on the apartment and there was a whole NEW choking smell! The bomb ruined the wood on one of my tables and lamps, that they graciously offered to replace. And they brought two space heaters up for us to borrow till they fixed the motor the next morning. They even bought us dinner and offered to put us up in a hotel.

All in all it worked out. I learned a lesson about sleeping in. I got to hang out with a friend I hadn't seen in TOO long. And my kids had some practice to "get out" when there are fire alarms and smoke!

Random Card

Just wanted to share a birthday card my good friend made with Close to My Heart's new Topstitch paper (my new FAVorite!) and their February Stamp of the Month - Piece of Cake. :)


She is where I get a LOT of my inspiration from... I have been scrapping with her from my beginning about 9 years ago!!!

More Singing

I shared my oldest daughter singing last week and decided to add more videos.

This is all my 'Jesus Loves Me' videos wrapped up in one :)

JJ - 22 months...

JJ - 3 years 4 months...

JJ - 3 years 10 months & B.boy - 2 years 6 months...

Late My Walk Monday

Late today and struggling again, but better late than not at all! I am happy to be here today reflecting on God in my life, won't you join me?

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

My Walk Monday, just share what is going on in your walk for the week or just the day so we can run this race together!

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"But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." Romans 8:37




Even though I know my Jesus has set me free from sin and death (Romans 8:2 - "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.")

I still find myself so easily entangled (Hebrews 12:1 - "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us")!

And what is it that I am called to do about my entanglement? I am to lay it aside... or maybe it other words STOP IT! lol! :)

"Resist the devil and he will flee from you." James 4:7

I was contemplating God's forgiveness and mercy this morning. I have a hard time with the consistence of His grace, not that I am ungrateful for it or I don't want it as often as He gives it. I just wonder why God isn't more like man, or like me. When I am tired of someone continually doing me wrong I want to give up on them in anger. I know God's anger burns for me when I continually grieve His Spirit. But I also know the truth He has shown my heart this morning.

I am just one person. One 27 year old person.

If God is perfectly willing to show the children of Israel (millions of them) grace and forgiveness in the wilderness for 40 years... then why am I listening to the lie that He would no longer want to forgive me???

"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32

Yes, ahhh yes, He loves me no matter what, He's with me no matter what and He forgives me no matter what!

Please share your walk...

Late Scrappin' Sunday

For Scrappin' Sunday we share our "ta-da's" and our "to-do's" to keep us motivated each week. I don't always participate, but it does keep me very well organized and prepared, you should join me.

My TA-DA for this week is one of the Valentine Gifts I have been working on, but I also wanted to share photos of my new scrap space since I moved! :)

It's in my bedroom now and I am loving it! Since it's always in my face it makes me want to get more done. Previously it was in my garage and I only got to the table once or twice in an entire year.

This is the bedside view...

And at the foot of the bed is this!...

Since we moved to a place that doesn't have as much storage space I decided to let go of my shelving unit and share my desk with my hubby for his computer. It's working out very well so far.

This is my side of the desk...

With my drawers, my totes and my MacBook Pro (bottom-left). My scrap-paper tub, train-case, albums, paper and memories (below). My altered Clipboard, my cardstock bin, my baskets of cards, tools, embellishments, supplies and photos (middle). And my shelving (up above)...

This is my husbands side of the desk...

(Yes hunny - sorry you only get a third not half.) That's his computer crammed on there and that giant bookcase is mostly his as well... other than all the pictures in frames :).

And this is my what I really meant to share...

One of the Valentine Gift's I am making. It's a little circle tin with tea-lite candles in it.

I used Close to My Heart paper and one of their stamp sets. I also used their liquid glass glue and some glitter for the shinnies :).

I was proud of my little double-bow :) Part sheer - part gross-grain.

And my tea-lites fit perfect because I used some that were bigger than others and I put a small glass holder in the middle... they smelled good too :)...

Now onto my running TO-DO list...

This is the last one I had on here from back in June - I will add to it...

1. Pick a date for a Close to My Heart party??? This party was suposed to be planned 7 months ago.
2. Hang ledge for black and white photos in my room. Funny I did this again since moving.
3. Hang my new Ikea lighthouse photo. And this too :)

I got all my old ones done (even twice over) and didn't even know it :) That makes me happy!

1. Finish altering Starbucks frappuccino Box.
2. Alter cardboard heart box.
3. Alter Hershey's miniatures.
4. Make Valentine cards with my new stamp sets.
5. Alter matchbook notebooks.
6. Alter journal.
7. Count RSVPs and...
8. ...plan Close to My Heart order out for Workshop on the 6th!
9. Pack for Open House Boutique this Saturday!!!

Wow I have a lot to do, but it's nice to see it all laid out! Pray for me...

Tri-fold Card

I finally made my nephew's birthday card today! :)

I copied the layout from one of the cards I made (from an S.E.I. kit) two weeks ago.

It's a Tri-fold card with an affixed frame that holds ribbon to tie it closed :).

This is what you see when you open the first flap...

And this is when you open the second flap...

This is the back of the card I copied...

Here is the "frame" on the card I made for my nephew :) it will only be two weeks late when he gets it...

This is the front view... I used old Basic Grey Skate Shoppe Paper, I knew these frogs would be perfect for something :)...

The first flap open...

The whole thing open...

A close-up on the inside... I REALLY need to invest in some googly eyes!!!

What I put inside for his gift :)... I love that it centered on "In God we trust"!

And the back of his card...

Also here is the video I followed to fold my heart - just case you want to know :)...

Money Origami (Heart) Very Easy - Click here for the most popular videos

Wordless

Remember the recent post about my big five year old and Vacation Bible School.... well I forgot I took this video of the songs she learned afterwards, but here... enjoy :)

Motivation to Stay Healthy

These are all pictures of me just before I found out I was pregnant. They are from my S.I.L.'s birthday dinner October 19th. I like them because you can really see the weight loss (20.5 lbs at the time, I went on to lose another 6 after that) in my face, even with all the strange expressions! :)

And of coarse I have pics of those I want to stay healthy for... :)









I was 164 pounds there and even though I am almost 13 weeks pregnant now, I am 159 pounds.

Before I was pregnant my body mass index was on the high end.

I am still planning on gaining a healthy amount of pregnancy weight throughout the entire pregnancy. But I am also not pannicing if I am not gaining because if I weighed 139 pre-pregnancy with a BMI of 21.2 and I gained 25 healthy pregnancy pounds I would still weigh 159 :)

No worries here, I have some "breathing room" :).

My Walk Monday

I am back - and hopefully on track. I am all moved into my new place with the internet on and working. And I have a lot on my mind for sharing.

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A jumble of things... not because I am confused in anyway, because "God is not a God of confusion" (1 Corinthians 14:33)... but because I have had a whole lot of thinking goin' on! lol - sorry that reminds me of that Jerry Lee Lewis song. See, I have been thinking so much that I even get jumbled with old rock n roll songs. Maybe it's the pregnancy brain kicking in?

A lot of important things are in there...

• Thinking about God's unconditional love, how He still loves me the same even though I mess things up in some way, shape or form in every single day of my life.
• Thinking about justification, Jesus making me constantly look JUST IF I'ED never sinned. This makes me wanna cry just continuing to think on it as I write...
• Thinking of how God sees me, pure, holy and clean through the blood of Christ (totally crying now!).
• Thinking of how I have always seemed to misunderstand these things in the past.
• Thinking if my spirit and my flesh arm wrestled, which would win?!?! (I have been noticing my problems with sin are that my flesh has always been so much stronger than my spirit.)
• I live my spiritual life sick and weak because I don't "eat" and "drink" enough.
• Prayer really does work, even just praying "please Lord, let no sin rule over me!" (Keep me from deliberate sins! Don't let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. Psalm 19:13 NLT) He has compassion on me because I cry out to Him, like the children of Israel.
• I want to live the rest of my life in restitution.
• I don't want to give into lies like "how can you help others if you cannot help yourself?" - I say "Shut up lier! God is helping me! And He has called me to help others!"

I've been thinking on...

• Sampson - it's never too late to turn a messed up life around for the works of God.
• Jacob - the little, weak, lier, klepto... the God of Abraham, Isaac and JACOB! God still used Jacob, He chose him, He taught him, gave him grace and made a name for him!
• Me - God knows I'm gonna mess things up, but He calls me anyway because He loves me.

Tony Horton (from P90X) "Do your best - and forget the rest!"

Hello

I'm here - I'm all moved in to my new place.

I am still unpacking and organizing, but I am excited to say my scrap space is all set up and ready to go! I have even made six handmade thank you cards at my desk already! :) So exciting. I really want to take pics for you, but I am still camera-less! (Since August can you believe it?!)

God has really been speaking to me the past couple days on not being afraid to be busy. I noticed I am almost fearful of commitments and busyness because I don't want to be even more the flake I already know I can be! I don't want to be too "tired". I think this "fear" was such I "small" one that I let it slip past my radar. I know to watch for fear because of my enemy, but this fear was all jumbled up in excuses and laziness and other things that I was just noticing the other things and not noticing the root.

Well needless to say, I don't want to be incapacitated, so I am planning my way out!

• I planned to be a leader in our Jr. High youth group without feeling overwhelmed with the commitment. Tonight was our first meeting and I really REALLY enjoyed the time getting to know the kids.
• I plan to make birthday cards for all my nieces and nephews from now on... I want to be a better Auntie. I put the first one in the mail today!
• I am planning to go to my friend's house with my kids on Friday along with some shopping in my new town and planning for a scrapbooking event! I'm used to staying in all day... I usually don't have a car, but know my hubby takes public transit :).
• I am planning my hubby to be out all day Saturday without having a bad time about him not being home to help.
• I am going to my other friend's house on Monday (whom I now live closer to :) - my kids NEVER have play-dates! This is a GREAT step for me!!!
• I am planning my daughter's first slumber party with a couple of her little 5 year old friends. Baking, dress-up, games, and a movie :).
• I am planning another Saturday without my hubby for him to go and hang with a friend he has TOO LONG not seen! And again... no bad time about not having him home to help!
• I'm planning another small birthday party for my soon-to-be two year old! Only a week after the sleep-over! Crazy - especially for me!
• I'm planning to have a Close to My Heart table at my friend's home-bazaar type thing on the 30th.
• And on the 6th I am planning a Close to My Heart - Valentine Gift Workshop at my house to teach my friends and family how to make some very cute and yummy gifts for their loved ones. (I hope to have a tutorial or at least pictures to share.) This will be my first real attempt at a Close to My Heart gathering!!!
• Also my 9 year wedding anniversary is coming up and so is Jr. High Winter Camp... I am still working on the good attitude for the close date vicinity of this one :)... I ALWAYS want a weekend with my hubby! My weekend! Mine!!!... wait we don't have to celebrate THAT weekend... duh! :)... I told you... I'm working on it.