Answers to your questions...

I was asked some really great questions this week. Some of them really had me thinking.

Kevin asked...
Are you a morning or night person?
Morning and always have been. I usually wake up in a good mood. People that are grumpy just because they had to get up drive me crazy. Seriously, if you didn't get wake up, you'd be DEAD!!!

Have you ever cried to get out of a spending ticket?
No, but thought of doing it. I always have the opposite problem...I get really mad. By the way, getting mad does NOT work!

Where do you find the energy to clean the entire house?
Within my soul. I love a clean house. I actually get more done when the house is clean. I know that sounds contridicting, but when my house is a mess, my mind is a mess. Give me two days and a two year old and I can do it!!

Where did you learn to cook such yummy meals?
Awww...what a sweet question! I like to experiment with recipes. I am pretty good at following directions, so the dishes usually come out pretty well. Lately though, I have been more comfortable branching out on my own. It's fun and quite rewarding.


Kim H. asked:
Do you have a life verse?
No, but I have a favorite one. It is Philippians 4:6 (New International Version)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. It got me through some truly difficult times with infertility and fear of miscarriage.

What is one area of sin that you struggle with?
Just one? I am not sure I can pick one. I need two...
Overeating and not caring for my temple.
Not submitting to my husband. I am a leader by heart and like to be in control. The whole "helper" idea that God created me to be causes internal struggle all the time.

Have you been making time for yourself in your new craft room? Or well, do you ever leave it?
Not as much as I would like. Isn't that always how it is, though? I do LOVE knowing that my stuff is there waiting to be scrapped in a nice orderly way in a beautiful room:)


Staci asked...
What is the most valuable thing you wish to teach your children?
This is a great question and I thought I would struggle choosing one thing, but it came to me very quickly:
To rely on God to help them make good decisions. I wish I would have had that growing up. I would have made some very different decisions. I did not respect myself or my body and that is just plain sad.

What is your best child hood memory?
Again, I have to choose one thing? Hmmm.....I would have to say boating with my dad. My dad owned the ugliest orange boat, but we had soooo much fun in it. I learned to ski when I was five and was driving the boat when I was 8. My parents were divorced, so this is the one thing that I did just with my dad. And now that my dad is gone, it means even more to me.

Katja Stahr-Long asked:
What is your greatest sorrow?
Well, I suppose the death of a family member is a huge sorrow... especially when they die too young like my dad at 47 and my brother in law at 27, but personally my greatest sorrow is my body and how it seems to fail me all the time. I know I should be thankful that God gave me the body He gave me (and some of the time I am extremely thankful) other times it just gets me down. All the surgeries and infertility tends to get me down, really down.

Who is your best friend & why?
I don't really have a "best" friend. I think each friend in your life is uniquely different and brings something to you that others don't. I have had sort of a rough year with friends, so I have really tried to focus on the friends that mean so much to me and why they are important. Instead of wasting my energy on joy stealers, I have tried to focus on my true friends. Some of my favorite unique traits of my friends include:

*their love of the same hobbies I do
This is very important to me as I beleive you can truly get to know and love someone when you craft together
*their dedication and dependability
For instance, I have a great friend who always makes time for me each week to catch up even though she is thousands of miles away. I have tried and tried this with other friends, but the friendship always falls apart when distance comes into the picture.
*their laidback personality
I don't consider myself laid back, so I am attracted to people who are...heck I married a very laid back person
*the ability to listen and give sound advice
All of my friends have this. I don't really like people who pretend to listen, but are really just waiting to do some more talking about themselves!

I am sure there are more traits, but these stand out!

What was the first thing you thought when you saw Keira for the first time?
Awww, a moment I will never, ever forget!
I had a c-section, so I knew from all the Baby Story shows I watched that they would tell me that I was going to feel a lot of pressure and this would be my cue that she was almost here. My OB said it and then within seconds held Kiera up. My first thought was, "Wow she is sooooo little!" They had me all convinced that she was some huge 9 or 10 pounder. She was a little over 7.5 lbs. My next thoughts were full of love and fulfillment!


Thank you for all the great questions! I truly enjoy this part of the blog.