QKD Design Team Projects

Howdy!  I finished 2 projects for QKD.  I cannot post them until Saturday, but I am diggin' the cards.  I was really impressed with Vicki's stamps.  They made excellent impressions and were easy to work with.  I can't wait to show off what I made.  I will be posting here on my blog, on the QKD's blog  on Saturday and on FB on Sunday.  Let me know what you guys think for my first design team projects. :)

Addict or Collector?

Howdy ya'll.  The other night I decided to reorganize my patterened paper to make it more accessible and get it out of the closet and into my immediate view.  I was shocked by what I found.  I have come to the conclusion that I am either a paper addict or a paper collector.  I, personally, find that I prefer to call myself a collector.  It doesn't sound quite as bad.

This stack is patterened paper that I am not sure of the company.  When I first started scrapping back in 2004, I bought alot of DCWV so I think that most of this is from DCWV.

This stack is all collections that I didn't seperate.  Most of it is K&Co, DCWV, Colorbok, and Recollections.  I have a few other single sheets from some of the other companies, but no full collections.  There are many that I would love to have, but just can't afford it.  I heard one time that for every 1 inch of patterned paper you can make 100 scrapbook pages or 45 cards.  The silver ruler you see on the pictures is about 13" long.  So you decided,, am I an addict or a collector??  LOL.



Anniversary Card

Hi again.  I had some paper left over from making the Vera Bradley card so I decided to turn them into a card for a friend of mine who's anniversary is Saturday.  I used the black and white flower patterned paper and the green and white flower paper.  I used Stampin' Up's black cardstock for my card base.  I also added a little black ribbon around the front. (Ribbon from AC Moore)  The stamp is from Blue Ridge Impressions in Virginia.  If you have never looked at their stamps, you really should.  They are some of the most beautiful scenic stamps around.  I love them.  Blue Ridge also sells alot of Scripture and Christian stamps.  Another reason why I love them so.  They are sold unmounted, and you just add the cling material to the back when you get them.  Fabulous.  I used my Spellbinders Oval and Scalloped Oval to cut out the sentiment and mount it.  I used Spellbinders Fancy Tags for the sentiment.  I cut them both out of the lime green.  I wanted the sentiment to pop a little so I cut another Fancy Tag out of white, cut out the inner circle and then stamped the greeting.  I inked around the edges of the greeting and the image with Distress Ink in Vintage Photo.  The inside message, which you can't see, is a stamp from Gina K Designs called Farm Life by Theresa Momber.  It says, "The view I like best is the one I share with you."  I love it!  This was a pretty quick card which was good because I needed to have it ready for tonight when I saw her at church.  Thanks for looking.

Here is a link to Blue Ridge Impressions. Check it out.
Here is the Theresa Momber Farm Life stamp set



Vera Bradley Inspired Card

Hi peeps.  I have another card to show you today.  I received a special order for a birthday card this week.  The lady is buying her daughter a Vera Bradley cosmetic bag for her birthday and wanted a card especially for her.  So, I Googled Vera Bradley Since I am not a girly girl, I know absolutely nothing about purse designers.  The name of the bag is Island Bloom and I have to say, it is a beautiful bag.  Not so much for the style, but as a crafter, the design and color combinations.   So here is the bag..the aquas and lime greens I absolutely love.  The black outlined flowers really set it off.  Kinda tropical don'tcha think?



This is the front of the card.  The base is made with a K & Co prefolded gatefold card with a twist.

I received a pack of these cards from my Big Sis over on SCS.  Thanks Mary!  I used some papers from my stash and unfortunately, when I began scrapbooking back in 2004, I wasn't so concerned with keeping my paper lines seperate.  Now, I wish I had because I still have some papers from 2004 and have no idea which lines they belong to.  Yes, I know, I am a paper addict.  It's bad.  I actually have enough paper that even if I didn't buy anymore for probably 2 years I could still craft.  With the exception of my cardstock, I am set for patterned paper.  But dang it, there are just so many beautiful collections out there.  So, back to the card.  I tried to match up the patterns and colors on the Vera Bradley purse as close as I could.   I pulled a couple of sheets that had the green, black, and aqua together, but they didn't seem quite right.  So I decided on this cute lime green with white flowers, black with white outlined flowers, and a small aqua print.  It does have brown in it, but not enough of a difference with the black that it clashed.  I also used a lime green cardstock from my stash to mat the patterned paper on.  The sentiment was printed out on my computer using the Brushstroke font set at 24.  I had a slightly hard time getting the diamonds to match up, and they still weren't perfectly straight, but that's the fun of crafting, right.  Imperfections make it handmade.

The inside was done with a combination of the black and white and green and white patterned paper and black cardstock and green cardstock.  I layered them leaving 1/8th of an inch between each layer.  The sentiment for the inside came from a list compiled on SCS (Splitcoast Stampers).  It's a great list of sentiments for all occassions.  I printed it out on my computer and used the same Brushstroke font as the front sentiment, just in a smaller size.  I mounted it on aqua cs just like the front.  I added the flowers on the green panels from some I had in my stash..again, I have no idea where I got them or who they were made by.

So that's the card.  I hope you guys enjoyed it.  I know I had fun making it.  I am going to have to check out more of Vera's purses for more inspiration.  Whatcha think??

Holy Spirit Kool-Aid

Tonight was simply amazing at MCAOG.  The Spirit hit and hit hard.  The Spirit of Laughter filled the altar tonight.  If you didn't come get some, it's your own fault.  And if you don't know what the Spirit of Laughter is, let me know and I will be more than happy to explain it to you.    So on the way home, I decided to talk to Kierstynne about what happened at church.  I ask her if she had any questions and she said not really.  Then she pipes up and says, "Mom, what are you doing when you say those weird words?"  I explained to her that it's the Holy Spirit living in me praying through me to God.
"Do you know what you're saying?"
"No I don't Kierstynne.  It's my special prayer language with God.  I don't need to know because my Spirit knows."
"What's it like, Mom?"
"Well, it's pretty cool actually.  The Spirit fills me up and it overflows out.  Sometimes I cry, sometimes I laugh, like tonight.  It is an amazing feeling.  But our faith isn't based on our emotions.  Faith is something that you know, that you know, that you know.    Did you know that you could ask Jesus to fill you with the Holy Spirit right now and you could speak in tongues too?"
"Oh no, Mom, I would feel silly."
"I did too at first.  To my brain it didn't make sense and sounded stupid so I would stop myself from doing it.  When I finally stopped thinking about it and concentrated on Jesus instead, it started flowing like water."   "So, technically, Mom, being filled with the Holy Spirit is kinda like making Kool-aid."
Sitting in the car with the stupidest look on my face, I ask her what she meant.
"When we make Kool-aid, we fill the pitcher up with just plain water.  That's us without the Holy Spirit.  Just plain water.  Then we add the Kool-aid and it gives the water color and flavor.  That's us with the Holy Spirit."  I was stunned.  What a wonderful way to explain what happens to us when we received the Holy Spirit.  We have flavor and color in our lives that we didn't have before.  Holy Spirit Kool-aid.  I like it.  Out of the mouths of babes.
The Word calls us to be salt and light to the world.  Salt is flavorful.  As long as we have the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are flavorful.  But woe to anyone who decides that they don't want that flavor anymore.  I don't ever want to lose my flavor. 
We all have a choice.  We can chose to allow the Holy Spirit to lead our lives or we can chose to lead our lives ourselves.  I chose the latter for a time and it didn't turn out so well.  Having the Holy Spirit lead me gives me a protection and a purpose and a plan that I could not have come up with on my own.  Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has a perfect plan for our life.  A plan that will not harm us but prosper us.  God's plan gives us a hope and a future.   I could not have, nor did I, ever come up with a plan as good as God's plan for my life.  Thank You, LORD for Your perfect plan for my life.  Lead me in the paths that I should go all the days of my life.  Amen.

Wedding Card

Hi guys.  I am sharing another card that I made for the Teapot Tuesday Challenge two weeks ago.  I tried to add it to my album on SCS but it said that the pic was too big and wouldn't let me add it.  I can't take another picture because the card is already on it's way to Alan and Ellen.  So, I am going to link my blog with a post on SCS Teapot Tuesday so you guys can see it from there.  Oh well, such is life...:)

I used Stampin' Up Crumb Cake for my base.  It's a typical size A2 card.  I then used a piece of chocolate brown cardstock for a mat.  The patterned paper is from the Lost and Found Collection from My Mind's Eye.  I love the Eiffel Tower and the French wording.  I rounded the two right hand corners on the brown cardstock and the patterned paper.  I used a set of silver edged stickers from Recollections for the sentiment and the little hearts.  I tied a piece of satin ribbon around the middle and tied a knot.  On the bottom I added three pink pearls.  Congratulations Alan and Ellen.  May God richly bless your marriage.

Shabby Chic Birthday Card

Hi everyone.  I just wanted to show you guys a card that I made for a friend of mine for her birthday.  I am really diggin' this whole shabby chic thing.  I wanted to make a feminine card, but I am tired of pink.  I wanted something different and special because the person who received this card is special and unique.  So, here's what I did...

The card base is A2 size (5 1/2 x 4 1/4) and is Stampin' Up Very Vanilla.  I rounded all four corners.  The background patterned paper is from DCWV Heritage Collection.  I love this collection.  It has some fabulous images.  I didn't like the whole sheet because the pattern included a measuring tape stripe, so I used my trimmer and cut the paper to remove that strip and meshed the paper to get the pattern I wanted.  I then rounded the images and inked the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I took a piece of vellum and tore each side, inked it with Vintage Photo and attatched it to the left side.  I then added a piece of chocolate brown ribbon tied to the right side.  I used a birthday sentiment from Stampin' Up, inked the edges and attatched with a pop dot to the vellum.  I used a pearl spray from Michael's that I found in the bridal section.  The little fabric flowers are from AC Moore.  They have a little pearl attatched to the middle. I thought it turned out pretty cute.  I hope my friend thinks it's as special as she is.  Thanks for checking out my post.

Shabby Chic Birthday Card

Shabby Chic card

This was my first attempt at a shabby chic card.  I had been wanting to try this style because I fell in love with this type of look a while back.  I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, but I really liked the outcome.  The cardbase is a beautiful shade of blue (but I don't remember the exact name) from Stampin' Up.  I cut a piece of patterned paper from DCWV to 4x5 1/4 and used it as my background paper.  I then pulled out my scrap box and found 5 cooridinating pieces.  I inked all the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  The one square that is sticking out to the right I balled up, straightened out and with a direct to paper technique added some walnut stain ink.  The image is called Small Paris and is from Hot Off the Press.  I inked it in Newspaper Brown.   I matted the image on the same blue as the cardbase.  I attatched them with ATG.  I added cream lace around the two blue roses from Prima.  The cream and pearl flower is from Recollections.  I added  some turquoise rhinestones from Recollections and three cream colored pearls, also from Recollections.  So, all in all, I think it turned out pretty good.

Well.  What a wonderful week of evangelistic meetings we have had at MCAOG.  It has been great having  Carl Harris with us.  I have sat under Carl's teaching for almost 11 years now and each message gets better and better.   Eleven years ago this month, Carl prayed against what the doctors had said.  He prayed for Tim and I to have a child.  Almost 2 years to the day of him praying for us, our beautiful daughter, Kierstynne Mykayla, was born.   Tomorrow she turns 8.  Where has the time gone?  It has been the longest eight years of my life, but by the same token, it has been the shortest eight years of my life.  I can vividly remember finding out I was pregnant with her.  I can tell you every minute of the day of her birth.  It's unbelievable to me that she has grown up so very fast.  But I digress..

This last week has been very hard on me.  I have been fighting an infection that is stubborn.  The doctors aren't sure what it is, how to treat it or how to get rid of it.  I have been nauseated for the past three days, but I didn't let that keep me out of the nightly meetings with Carl.  The devil has devices.  That has been the theme of this week's meetings.  The devil has a plan for your life, just as God has a plan for your life.  Which do you think is the better plan?  I know which is the better plan because God's Word tells me in Jeremiah 29:11 that God has a plan for me.  A plan to prosper me.  A good plan.  God has His eyes on me at all times.  He also knows the plans that devil has to use against me.  God's plan will overrule the devil's plan if I allow God to work in my life.  What would I have missed if I had allowed my sickness to keep me at home and not at church?  I would have missed the Word of God.  I would have missed signs and wonders of healing going on in my church body.  I would have missed testimonies of healings.  All these things work together to bolster our faith.

Seeing others getting healed can work in two ways.  It can lift you up, strengthen your faith, and cause an overflow of joy to flood your soul...God's plan.  Or, it can cause jealousy, resentment and the whole "Why not me" feeling...the devil's plan.  You have the choice of deciding which result you have.  How you view other's healings can have a huge impact on your own.  I choose to be joyful and rejoice with those who were healed this week.  I am believing God for healing in my body, whether it be from a miraculous touch of God's healing hands or through the doctor and the wisdom that God gives them to find cures.  Either way, I will be healed. 

Another thing that Carl has been speaking on is finances.  Right now, mine are in the toilet.  The devil's devices are devious.  Being a slave to your finances is his plan.  When we are a slave to our money, it prevents us from sowing into the Kingdom of God.  When we have to live paycheck to paycheck, it prevents us from blessing others.   When God got ahold of me on March 3rd, I thought I was completely set free from the bondage of money.  I didn't realize that the devil had plans for me and money.  He has kept me in bondage with this thing.  And the sad part is, I didn't even realize it until last night.  The devil's plan for me is that I stay in bondage to money.  God's plan is to set me free from it.  I choose God's plan.  So, tonight when I got home from church, I took my stack of bills, my check book and my debit card and prayed over them.  I prayed that God would set His seal upon the checkbook and debit card.  I prayed that only good will come from them.  No longer will I be subject to the money.  I laid my hands upon them and set them apart for the Kingdom of God.  I then laid my hands on the stack of bills and prayed over them.   I prayed that they will all be paid.  I will no longer be subject to the lender.  I will owe noone anything.  I am believing in God's plan for my life.  The Word says to call things that are not as if they are.  That's what I'm doing.  Right now, I can't see a way to pay what has to be paid by next Friday.  I need over $800 and our checking account is in the red.  But....but God.  God can make a way where I don't see a way.  God's plan is a good plan.    I know that God is going to take care of me.  But I also know that it's not going to be easy. 

Tonight Carl made the comment that Jesus said to take up our cross daily.  No where in the Bible will you find that following Jesus is going to be easy.  It actually says the opposite.  Why do we think that being a Christ follower is going to be a bed of roses?  Those who followed Jesus in Biblical times were persecuted for it.  They were stoned, imprisoned, and killed.  Where do we get the idea that following Christ is a cake walk?  It's hard to follow Jesus.  It calls for us to set ourselves apart from the world.  Yes, we all live in the world, but we are not of this world.  Everyday, people commit suicide because of their finances.  People place their trust in the stock market, or the casinos.  Those things are temporal.  They are not reliable.  My God is reliable.  He will never leave us or forsake us.  He will stand beside us when the going gets tough.  Psalm 23 tells that even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death that we need fear.  God is walking right there with us.  I know that God is walking right beside me through this valley of bad finances.  When I make it out, I will be able to look back and see just how far I have come and when I look back, I will see two sets of footprints.  God's and mine.  Thank you God for that promise.  Thank you Lord that you love me and will never leave me.  And Lord, thank You than when I am too weak to carry myself any further, that you will carry me the distance to victory in Your Name.  The Name above all names.  The Name that everything and everyone will eventually bow down to.  The Name of Jesus Christ.

I Got It!!

Well peeps...I got the job.  I will be designing for Queen Kat Designs for the June-November time frame.  I'm so very excited.  I never thought my work was good enough,  but I guess it is.  God has blessed me so.  I can't wait to get started.  I wish they had a little emoticon for the Snoopy Happy Dance cause that's what I feel like doing.  I will be posting my work every month here on my blog as well as on Queen Kat's FB page and webpage.  Keep your eyes peeled for some new work from yours truly. 

*I'm so excited...I just can't hide it*

New Adventure

This is a first for me.  I am going to enter a design challenge call.  This is where a stamp company sends out a request for people to submit their work and if they are picked, they will get to be a guest designer for that company.  I am nervous but am going to do it anyway.  Let's see what happens.  I have to submit three different cards, so here they are:

This card is called "Dream".  I used and Eiffel Tower stamp from Studio G to do the background.  I stamped the towers in two different shades of brown.  I also used a cancelled postal stamp.  I used Vintage Photo Distress Ink to ink the edges.  The DP is from the DCWV Heritage collections.  I tied a deep chocolate grograin ribbon around the middle and matted the focal image on Chocolate Chip SU Cardstock.

This one is a "Tattoo and Teapots" card.  I downloaded an image sheet of tattoos and colored them in using alcohol ink markers.  I used Worn Lipstick Distress ink for the edges.  The title is a tattoo font from my computer matted on black cardstock and pop dotted up for dimension.



This card is made with a cute stamped angel.  I used alcohol ink markers to color in the image after stamping it with Staz-On in black.  I matted on a medium blue cardstock.  The rhinestones are from Recollections.  I sponged a cloud design on the card base itself.  The ribbon is from AC Moore.



This is a card I made for a challenge on Teapot Tuesdays on SCS.  I hand drew the Morse Code panel and the King is from DCWV Heritage stack.  The pig is from a Gina K Designs collection and the boom box is a Recollections stamp.  I used Vintage Photo ink to age all edges. 

Praying for Your Husband

I have begun reading Stormie Omartian's book,"The Power of a Praying Wife".  Wow, what an eye opener.  I am understanding how my attitude toward my husband needs to change.  Loving your spouse is not enough.  You must also respect your husband and support him. 

Here are some of the things I have learned:

The strength of a man and wife joined together in God's sight is far greater than the sum of the strengths of each person.  That's because the Holy Spirit unites them and gives added power to their prayers.

If you pray for yourself and not for him, you will never find the blessings and fulfillment you want.  What happens to him happens to you and you can't get around it.  This oneness gives us a power that the enemy doesn't like.  That's why he devises ways to weaken it. He gives us whatever we will fall for, whether it be low self esteem, pride, the need to be right, miscommunication, or the bowing to our own selfish desires.  He will tell you likes.  He will tell you whatever you will believe because he knows if he can get you to believe it, there is no future for your marriage.

When we are frustrated and angry in our marriage, we see things the way we want to, not from God's perspective.  When we are miserable in our marriage we feel anything will be an improvement over what we are experiencing, but we don't see the whole picture.  We don't see what God wants it become.

Praying for your husband will be an act of unselfish, unconditional love and sacrifice on your part.  You must be willing to make this commitment knowing it is quite possible that he will never pray for you in the same way.  In some cases, he may not pray at all.  Whether he does or he doesn't is not your concern, it's God's.

Your happiness and fulfillment will not ride upon whether he prays, it will depend on your own relationship with the Lord.

The purpose of praying for your husband is to ask God to make your heart right, show you how to be a good wife, share the burdens of your soul, and seek God's blessings on your husband.

Look to God as the source of all you want to see happen in your marriage, and don't worry about how it will happen.  It's your responsibility to pray.  It's God's job to answer.  Leave it in His hands.

So these things are just from the introduction to the book.  I haven't even delved into Chapter One.  Just wait...

Trusting in the Lord

I have discovered that learning a lesson that God has been trying to teach you is much easier learned the first time rather than the 4th, 5th, 16th..time.  Learning a lesson you should have learned years ago is very painful and humbling.  Coming face to face with the consequences of your actions is an eye opener to say the least. 

When you have allowed your self centeredness, selfish pride to rule your life for so long, it's a shocker when you come to the bottom and have only one alternative.  GOD!!

But, thankfully we have God's grace and mercy and forgiveness.  Those three things can see us through any trial we have to go through.  Thank God.

I am such a bad blogger.  I see other's blogs and wonder where they find the time.  I always start the day with the best of intentions of writing on here, but time just seems to slip away.  Between Kierstynne's lessons, fixing lunch, getting Tim off to work, housework and just everyday life, there doesn't seem to be enough hours of the day.

These last few weeks have been very interesting.  Since March 3rd, my life has been turned around.  I am learning and seeing things that I never thought possible.  God has been so good to me.  He is revealing things to me from my past that I thought I had dealt with, but were holding me in bondage.  He has been showing me how my prideful, self centered attitude was destroying my life.  It's been a hard lesson to learn.  I have come to the conclusion that it is much easier to learn the lesson the first or second time around than to be stubborn and not learn until time 15 or 16.  The lesson is much harder because more time has past and you become more entangled in the deception.  Thank God we have a God who is infinitely patient with us and doesn't give up on us.

I know that right now, I am in the valley.  It is hard making my way through.  There are boulders, snares, and learning opportunities.  The Word tells me that even though I walk through the valley that I do not have to fear because God is with me.  Sometimes I still think it would be easier to go another way, but that way leads to death and destruction.  Yes, it is easier, but no where near as rewarding.  Learning how to depend completely on God has been hard at times, but it is also enlightening.  I have also realized that when I finally make it to the top of the mountain, I will be able to look back and see how far I have come and I will be able to see God's footprints right beside mine, showing that He never left me while I was making my way through the valley.  Praise God!!!  I am not alone.  Even when I feel alone, I am not alone.  God is always right there beside me, urging me on, encouraging me, helping me press on to the top of the mountain.

God has also shown me that I am not who my past said I was going to be.   I do not have to be held in bondage because of my past.  God has set me free from the generational curses that stem from my past.  I have a choice..I can stay in bondage or I can choose to walk in the freedom of God.  I choose freedom.  We have the ability to curse with our words.  Not curse like a sailor, but curse as in bondage.  What we allow to come out of our mouths can either cause damage or encourage.  When we speak about a person, we can choose to speak forth blessings or curses.  When someone hurts our feelings or says something that cause anger to well up inside us, we can choose to say, "God, forgive them, because they don't know what they are saying", or we can say, "Dang that person.  He/she is an idiot."  Which do you think would be the right choice.  I know that it is hard to choose the way Jesus would take, but it's the right way.

 Now, I have to warn you.  When I began to notice changes in my life after March 3rd, I was on cloud 9 for about 3 weeks.  Then, slyly, discreetly, the devil moved in.  I began to read the book, "The Power of a Praying Wife," and to do the study guide that goes along with it.  I was reading the Word everyday, and doing another study about humility and seeking God.  Within 2 days of beginning the Praying Wife book, Tim and I were arguing over stupid stuff.  He got mad at me and I didn't even know what I had done..so I got mad at him for getting mad at me.  Sounds rather childish right?  Well, that's how the enemy of our souls work.  He doesn't come right out and say, "Look, I am going to cause havoc in your life today.  Just sit back and watch what I am going to do."  No.  It's sneaky, it's sly and it can be very damaging.  He comes like a thief, seeking to see who and what he can destroy.  Marriage is ordained by God and it is the first thing the devil will attack.  When it dawned on my lightening fast pea brain what was happening, I was able to mount a counter attack.  I prayed and asked for help.  I knew I couldn't change Tim's anger so I asked God to do it.  Two days later, I found out what had made him get mad at me and it was something that he thought I had done that I hadn't actually done.  So we were able to work it out.   The more I draw closer to God, the harder the devil is going to fight against me.  I know that God has a plan for me and my husband and it is going to knock that stupid devil for a loop and he is trying to destroy us before we can even get started walking out the plan God has for us.  Not going to happen..We have to be aware of his schemes at all times.  The Bible tells us that he sneaks about like a lion just seeking out those he can devour and destroy.  We have to be on our guard at all times, making sure we have put on the Armor of God everyday in order to defeat him.

As we walk out God's plan for us every day, we must make sure we are ready and able to fight against our enemy.  We must make sure we are well prepared.  How do we do that?  We spend time with God each day.  We must pray without ceasing.  That doesn't mean we have to into our prayer closets and spend the day.  It just means that we are in a continuous conversation with God all day.  We must read the Word each day.  Get the Word into your memory and your spirit so that when you need a flaming arrow, you know what to use.  We must allow the Holy Spirit to live large in us.  We must decrease so that Jesus can increase.  The more of the Spirit we have living in us, the better we are able to defend against the devil.  In times of trouble, when we are in a place where we are stuck, the Holy Spirit can step up to the front line and defend us.  If we don't allow Him to have that much leeway, we are going to be attacked and beaten down.  Don't allow that to happen.  Fill yourself up every morning. 

I pray a special blessing upon each person that reads my blog today.  May the Spirit of God live largely in your life.  May God lead, guide and direct your path.  May you feel God's arms supporting you, encouraging you, and loving you throughout this day.  God bless  you.

Wonderful Weekend

We had such a wonderful evening on Friday.  We travelled down to Hershey, Pa for the Casting Crowns concert.  It was so nice to have time to spend with adults.  After being with my wonderful daughter all the time...24/7..it's nice to get away and spend some time having adult conversations and relaxing.

Tim drove down and tried to give his mother a heart attack.  Tim has a bad habit of tailgating.  He will wait until the last minute to hit the brakes and even though I have learned not to say anything, but to sit on the passenger side and pray, my poor MIL was a nervous wreck.  She even tried to lay down in the back seat so she couldn't see..LOL.  Finally, Tim decided to give his mom a break and stop tailgating.  Needless to say, I drove home..:)

We arrived in Hershey about 6pm and met up with Pastor Jim and Dorothy and Mohammed and Jennifer Alsafar.  We were planning on a nice dinner at Applebee's but the the wait was 45 minutes so we opted for KFC.  Suprisingly, it was really good.  I love their mashed potatoes anyway, so it was all good.  The conversation made it even better. 

The concert was fantastic.  There were a couple of new groups that I hadn't heard before.  Lindsay McCaul, Royal Tailors and Matthew West.  I was really digging Matthew West.  He had some really powerful songs and his humor was great.  Royal Tailors were pretty good too.  I'm not sure what I would classify their group as, but probably alternative.  Pretty good though.  Lindsay McCaul was good and kind of folksy.  I was very impressed with what a great show Casting Crowns put on.  It was great. 

The best part of the evening was knowing that I was in an arena full of people who believed the same things as I do.  It was great to have liked minded people all gathered in one place with the intent of worship.  Wonderful it was.  It was like a small glimpse of what Heaven may be like.  Hundreds of people all gathered together with the same purpose. 

The ride home was hysterical.  My MIL was tired, as  it was after 11pm before we left the Hershey area....well past her bedtime.  She started singing kid's nursery rhymes.  Tim wanted out of the car.  We didn't get all the words right which made it even funnier.  Yeah, it was a fun ride home. 

Home at 2am and back up at 10am to go to the church for the kid's Easter Egg Hunt.  The kids had a great time and we hid over 200 eggs for them.  They got to do a craft, have lunch and the puppets even showed up to teach a lesson about what Easter is really all about.  I think everyone had a great time.  I know I did.

It is now 3pm and I need a nap....