Ok, this is a post for the digi-scrappers who visit my blog!!

I have joined forces with Amy Bleser, a designer at ScrapMommies, and used her kit to make a fun Mini Trading Card Album.  It’s perfect for your zoo and wildlife safari pics!  There are 20 PNG’s, ready for you to place your photos.  Instructions are included on how to put the album together… and in no time you’ll have a wonderful gift for grandmas and grandpas… or a fun little album for your kids to show off their zoo adventures!  Check it out, and get it at ScrapMommies.com!

I started a new category for blog entries.  I originally had “Toddlerhood” set up for stories about Samuel – but he’s moved past toddlerhood into BIG KID!

So, Samuel (who is four) is obsessed with super-heros.  He pretends to be Spiderman or Batman almost all the time.  We are constantly being “caught” in his web (imaginary), or punched with a big “POW!” (not so imaginary)!  And lately everyone we talk about needs to be lumped into the “good guy” or “bad guy” category.  “Is he a good guy?”  “Is she a bad guy”?  He asks a hundred times a day.

Today we were settling down for naps, and I read him a short story.  Then I told him he needed to go to sleep and get some good rest.  Of course he immediately asked “WHY?”  (That’s the other obsession – why, why, why, why?!)  I told him that’s how God made him – he needed to play and eat and sleep and play some more.  And of course, I got the….

“WHY?”  

“God made our bodies to need all those things, and especially when you are a little boy.  If you don’t get good rest, you get cranky and whiny, and that’s no fun, right?“

“WHY?“

“Sweetie, do you like being cranky?“

“No.“

“We all need rest.  It’s just the way God made us.  And when we get good sleep, we aren’t cranky.“

“Oh.  God… um..Jesus… did Jesus make me?“  (note – I think this is the first time he’s connected God and Jesus in a casual conversation.  And he used the sweetest, almost sheepish tone while asking). 

“Jesus is God’s son.  God made us, and Jesus was there.“

“Jesus is a good guy?“

“Yep, Jesus is the BEST guy.“ 

“And God is a good guy?“

“Yep, God is the BEST guy too!“

“Who is the bad guy?“

“Satan… the devil.  He is the baddest guy.“ (ok.. I probably should have used the word worst, but he understands baddest).

“And Jesus is gonna fly over and catch him and put him in jail?“  (whoosh go his arms and he asks the question… I couldn’t help but picture a “super-hero Jesus”).

“Well, kind of.  Jesus fought with the devil, and he won.  And he did that for us.  So we can all go to heaven.  That makes him the best good guy of all.“

“Did he fly?“

“Well….. (and I think about Jesus ascending into heaven)… yes… he sort of floated up into heaven when he was done fighting the bad guy.“

“Yeah… and then he caught us in his web.“

“No, Jesus doesn’t have a web.  But, he’s still the best.“

“Even better than spiderman!“

“Yep, WAY better than spiderman!  Ok, it’s time to take your nap now.“ 

“WHY???”

****************************

Superheros… it’s a good start, I think, to sharing with a four year old about God and Jesus and their love for us! 

 

 

I moved from York, Nebraska to Las Vegas almost two years ago.  The move to “sin city” alone would have been overwhelming to someone who had become used to the laid-back, congenial, Bible-belt feel of the small midwest town.  I added to the move a new marriage, and an immediate pregnancy and new baby.  It’s been a VERY interesting couple of years, and I still feel like I haven’t adjusted. 

Most of my time here has been spent at home, in a little apartment.  When I do get out, I get confused easily, lost easily, and overwhelmed easily.  I’ve never had difficulty with my sense of direction before, so I’m not sure why it’s been so hard here in Vegas.  The overwhelming feelings are easy to explain.  Often there are more people in the Walmart here than there were in the town of York.  (Ok, slight exaggeration, but you get the idea!)  The hustle and bustle of life here is SO different.  Tellers at the bank or post office don’t know you, and don’t care to know you.  Checkers at the grocery store or Walmart are often detached, sullen, not interested.  If you’ve ever spent any time in Nebraska, or the midwest, you know that it’s exactly the opposite there.  (In fact, when I first moved to Nebraska from CA I was unnerved in the opposite way.  I couldn’t understand why the clerks at the store needed to have a conversation with EVERYbody…and not just an “how are you today”, but a “and how is Bob… and oh wow, I heard about that.. blah, blah, blah…” kind of conversation).  Anyway, I got really used to the way things were done in Nebraska.  It’s almost depressing to go to Walmart here in Vegas.

Yesterday I made a quick trip to Albertsons (local grocery store), because they have a Postal Express office.  I found this little post office storefront a month ago or so, and I plan to use it whenever I need to ship something. (Which is about twice a week, since business is getting better and better).  There are only three windows in the mini-post office, and I’ve seen the same four people over and over in the last month.  I almost feel like I’m back in a small town, because they are starting to recognize me when I come in. And I know they have other “regulars” because I’ve watched the post office employees visit with people, taking just a little more time to have a conversation.  Yes, it means I stand in line a little bit longer, but it’s such a nice change of pace to the “main” post office where I feel a bit like one of the cattle being prodded through the line.

On my way home from Albertsons, I was stopped at a stoplight.  A man, wearing run-down clothes and carrying a hand-lettered sign, was walking back and forth looking for donations.  His sign said he was homeless, and he looked it.  I was in the second lane over, so I wasn’t convenient for him to make eye contact with, and I sat there thinking about him and wondering what his story was/is.  It’s a fact of life in Las Vegas that if you go out anywhere, you are bound to see at least one person standing on a street corner somewhere, asking for money. I don’t get out much but I’ve been approached at least 5 or 6 times in parking lots as I attempt to get to my car from a store or restaurant.  And there are always people on main corners, or at the off-ramp from the freeway.  Always.

I haven’t been able to get the man from yesterday out of my head.  Or the idea that there are SO MANY people in this town having hard times.  I think it was only two or three months after I moved here that I realized Las Vegas is a sad, sad town.  There is so much pain here… so much sin… so many who don’t know (or don’t care) about Jesus. 

And I sit and wonder.  What can one person do?  What can I do?  I’m a mom, a wife, a business owner, a busy, busy, BUSY person.  I know my first responsibility is to my husband and children.  And yet, I keep getting a nudge.  A sense that there is something I should be doing. 

The man on the street yesterday – he is my neighbor.  I think Jesus would have talked to him. He would have helped him, one way or the other.  What did I do?  I just kept driving. 

We’re having a HUGE Mother’s Day extravaganza at ScrapMommies this weekend.  The festivities start tonight (Friday) with a chat at 10 P.M. eastern.  The Design team put together an amazing FREE kit, and there will be a link to a piece of it every day for a week!  Here is a preview of the wonderful “Thanks Mom” kit:

There will be chats all day Saturday, some on Sunday, and tons of freebies from all the hosts!  Everything in the store will be 50% off, AND there is a layout contest!  You can get all the specific details at Scrapmommies.com 

I will be hosting the “Midnight Snack” chat at 9 P.M. pacific/Midnight eastern, and I’ll be giving out FOUR QuickPage freebies, one every 15 minutes!  The QuickPages are made using items from the “Thanks Mom” kit.  Here is a preview of the QP’s:

Hope to see you at the festivities and at the Midnight Snack chat! 

I have been so busy lately, and creatively challenged, so there haven’t been many new layouts for awhile.  The last few days I have been slowly getting back into the groove, and here are the latest:

This was for a scraplift challenge at ScrapMommies.com.

Credits: Papers from “Reborn” kit by Trish Jones; Ribbon and elements from “Boy-sterous” kit by Amy Bleser.

This is my mother and her older brother, sometime in 1950 or so. Credits: Papers from Fiddlette’s “Mr. Metropolis” paper pack, found at ScrapMommies. Ribbon by Ronna Penner 

Spiritual warfare. I’ve always believed very strongly in it.  I’ve usually been aware of it happening around me, within me.  And I’ve been reminded of it this weekend. 

I’m making some new rules.  First, don’t ever make declarations or intentions without lots of prayer backup, and second, be ready for the backlash of negativity when you attempt to focus only on the positive.  I don’t really have the words to descibe the level of anxiety I felt this morning.  I was literally paralyzed with fear, anxiety, and a number of other negative emotions.  I can’t really begin to understand or explain it – and believe me, I tried to do both. 

One of the best tools against being spiritually attacked?  Lots and lots of singing, mixed with prayer.  This isn’t a new concept – it’s probably more like a “duh” concept.  But, I sat for 30 minutes singing to my boys at naptime, and wow… what a difference.

 

 

For the last couple of weeks, our youngest son, “Baby” Allan has been changing.  On April 28th, we celebrated his first birthday.  And ever since, he’s been acting like he’s two!  For some reason, he’s decided that the “terrible twos” need to start NOW, instead of next year.  Temper tantrums, yelling, kicking and flailing, screaming, loud angry noises, and angry angry faces.  It’s a bit unnerving, and extremely funny at the same time.

So, I’ve been saying over and over… “he better grow out of it now, or else we are TOTALLY in for it when he actually turns two!”  It occurred to me after having said that for the 20th or 30th time, that I need to be careful about what I think and say.  I don’t think something WILL happen, just because I say it enough times, but at the same time I don’t want to say something so often that I program my mind to believe it IS that way. 

I had this thought in conjunction with some other “deep” thoughts.  I have been making some changes that I hope will lead me towards being a stronger, happier, healthier wife and Mommy.  Almost immediately, I started “hearing” old thoughts in my head, about how I can’t make these changes… I’m just going to feel stressed because of the changes… it’s hard and I’ll probably just fail again, etc., etc.  I sat feeding Baby Allan the other day, with these old tapes running through my mind, and suddenly it clicked.  These old tapes need to be TURNED OFF!  I am doing myself no favors by listening to them, especially since most of it is garbage… lies that I’ve believed, and refuse to believe anymore.

So, one more change – work on turning off the the negative thoughts.  Time to begin pondering whatever is good and pure and all the rest…  It’s SO time for that already!