The truth is....

The truth is...I haven't blogged in two years. My life is so incredibly busy that I don't have the time to blog. Just an update on the Scott's though-

Shane is finishing his fourth year as pastor at Walnut Creek Baptist Church. I still play the piano and help out with preschool and children as needed.

G is starting high school this year. She is so excited to be in the marching band and actually goes back to school next week!

E is starting 1st grade this year. He is the same fun-loving, goofy, short-haired boy we all love!

Annie is living the life of luxury these days. The older she gets, the lazier she gets!

I am still teaching 3rd grade and writing for LifeWay. In addition, I am a dummy who is now the band booster president. My life has hit busy and fast!

Summer is drawing to an end. I am actually sitting in a room at Glorieta in my pj's typing this. Love Glorieta and the peace and tranquility it provides.

I have met some of God's best warriers here and am loving it. Sadly, we will have to leave in a day or two :(

Hope to get back to you in another year or two! ;)

Nashville

Some of you have asked about my trip….some of you haven’t but I’m gonna tell you about it anyways!

A couple of years ago, I applied to write for LifeWay curriculum. The application process changed and I didn’t realize it so I didn’t update my file for a few years. This past spring, I updated my application and within a few weeks was asked to write for Worship KidStyle, a preschool children’s church curriculum.
This conference in Nashville was to work on my writing for this. We would start the day at 7:30 (breakfast) and work until lunch. Then, we ate lunch in the LifeWay (did you know they employ about 1500 at that site alone?) cafeteria. We would work until dinner and then back to work that evening. Thursday, I worked until 9:45 p.m.
You cannot imagine all that goes into such a production. I was amazed. I went to the conference with most of my ideas on paper. Then I had to compare with 3 other people to make sure we didn’t duplicate. After that, I compared with 2 additional people. When that was complete, I compared my ideas with the Sunday School curriculum for that quarter. It was crazy but amazing! At this time, I have to revise and create a final draft of my ideas. I must have it submitted by November 15th. My stuff will be published in the summer of 2011.
In addition to being a pastor’s wife, mom, and teacher, I love doing this type of thing. I have started leading more Preschool conferences and hopefully, will begin writing for more publications.
I didn’t see much of Nashville so I hope that the family and I can go back for a visit. I met great friends from all over the country! I have inserted a picture of the LifeWay building and here is the website to see an example of what we are doing (https://admin.na3.acrobat.com/_a41466003/worshipkidstyle/ ) I am writing the Application Activities.
Anyway, that is my week in a nutshell. I feel honored that I was chosen to write for them and blessed that my bosses let me go! Shane did a great job with the kids and I am hoping to get him into this writing thing.

Thanks for your love and prayers!

Christmas pics

Oops

Okay, so I cannot seem to multitask on the technology end of things. I didn't want to write a blog until I had my Christmas pictures on but it might be Thanksgiving before I do that. So, here I am .
The multitasking, you ask? I am now on Facebook. As if I needed one more thing to do. Crazy isn't it?
This weekend I am leading a conference for ETC workers in Weatherford. I am so excited but still have so much to do to get it just right.
Then, next month, I will be flying to Nashville to start working on LifeWay Preschool curriculum. I am so excited that I can hardly wait!!!
I applied to help with some test writing and should I get that, I will be flying to Missouri in March or April.
Lots going on and I am loving it all.

Shane is fabulous and supports my interests in writing and leading training conferences. (My real bosses have been supportive too) Training people to work with preschoolers in church is my passion. I love it!

The kids are great. We are back in school and have enjoyed getting back into our routine. I really will try to post some pictures of my angels.

G's 1st band concert

I know you cannot see G because she is hidden by flutes, but you can listen to the band concert here.

'Tis the Season!

I did it! I got my house decorated in one weekend. I put the 7 1/2 foot mammoth tree up in the living room. I did it in blue and silver! Love it!!!!

G and E decorated the famous Charlie Brown Christmas tree in the dining room. Actually it was our old tree that looks like it is about to fall apart! The cool thing was that G and E made several of the decorations for this tree from scratch. We made dough ornaments and they look great!

I am excited about Christmas but still don't have all of my gifts bought!

Whose idea was it to exchange gifts in the first place? Isn't Jesus gift enough?

E had his fourth birthday. We started with a family thing at the house and a trip to Chick-Fil-A (his favorite birthday spot) and then we had a big family party for he and my niece at Mom and Dad's house.

Fall Festival

This year for fall festival, E was an Aggie football star and G was a vet (with Annie her patient). It was a great experience for us all!

6th grade and Freedom of Speech

G comes up to me tonight and says, "Mom, there are some kids at school that believe Obama is the antichrist and I agree." Frantically, I look around the room to make sure there are no bugs or hidden cameras. I tell her, "You could be right but freedom of speech isn't really freedom of speech. You cannot be talking about things like that." Her innocent 6th grade frame of mind couldn't understand why we don't really have freedom of speech. I didn't show her the article but I did encourage her to let it go.
When did it get so bad that we become fearful of sharing our opinions? Why do I care if my blog gets flagged because I have an opinion? When did it become necessary to warn my daughter about speaking her mind? Truth is...we are going to cause our own freedoms to become null and void because of our apathy. What a sad place!
If you know G, you know that she will go down with the ship before giving up her opinions. She is her mother's daughter!

Just some political thoughts with a recovering migraine sufferer today! :)

Can you believe this????????????

Secret Service visits Lufkin woman after 'death threat' allegation from an Obama campaign volunteerBy JESSICA SAVAGEThe Lufkin Daily News
Monday, October 06, 2008
A Lufkin woman received a surprise visit from the Secret Service last week because of a "death threat" comment she reportedly made about Sen. Barack Obama to a campaign volunteer asking for her support of the presidential candidate.
Two federal agents arrived at Jessica Hughes' home Thursday to ask her if she said, "I will never support Obama and he will wind up dead on a hospital floor."
Hughes said her words were deliberately twisted by a volunteer who was apparently unhappy Hughes was rude during a phone conversation the two had. The Lufkin mother, a Republican, said she received a call on her cell phone Wednesday from a woman with the Obama Volunteers of Texarkana.
"She asked if I was an Obama supporter, to which I replied, 'No, I don't support him. Your guy is a socialist who voted four times in the state Senate to let little babies die in hospital closets; I think you should find something better to do with your time.' (And then) I hung up."
(Hughes is referring to a "born alive" Illinois bill that did not pass in the Illinois state Senate in 2005 and had previously been opposed by Obama because he said it undermined Roe v. Wade, according to FactCheck.org, a non-partisan organization. A federal version of the bill, which Obama said he would have supported, passed by unanimous consent and was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2002.)
Obama Campaign Communications for Texas director Josh Taylor declined to comment Monday, refusing to answer any questions and referring the matter to the Secret Service, which he said is conducting an investigation. A message left with a Secret Service agent in Houston was not immediately returned.
Hughes said she was surprised to see two Secret Service agents at her door, and upset to learn that the conversation she had with the volunteer apparently had not been recorded.
"I find it hard to believe that (campaign volunteers) don't tape these calls. They call people unsolicited and they aren't monitoring the calls or recording them? I think that is absolutely ridiculous," she said.
"I mean, how often must this happen — that someone is rude to a volunteer that they don't want to talk to?"
Hughes said she wants to file a countercomplaint against the volunteer.
"She has made a charge that will follow me the rest of my life," she said.
"I find that repugnant and violating — that some person got her undies in a bundle because she didn't like what I had to say."
Vote for this story!



Find this article at: http://www.lufkindailynews.com/search/content/news/stories/2008/10/07/secret_service.html

Weird Week

This has definitely been a very weird week. I am glad to say that it has come to an end. We started the week in fear that our dear friend, Fran, might have cancer. We were thrilled beyond words when we found out that she does not have cancer. Praise God for that news.
I have been coughing for about 7 weeks now. This week it got much worse. I have been coughing like a heavy chain smoker and I have never even smoked.
Wednesday, Shane's office was broken into and his computer stolen. We believe that it was stolen from someone we know. Reno pd didn't even take fingerprints so we may never know. That put a damper on the week.
Thursday, we got news that one of my former student's dad was killed in the helicopter crash in Iraq. He was someone that I had gotten to know. His family is precious with his wife, Melanie, and their 4 girls. It has been very sad. Living near and teaching at the world's largest military base for 14+ years should have prepared me for this but I have been so blessed to not have this happen before. Pray for the Mason family. They will need God's strength and peace throughout the coming months.
The weather has been nice here. Loving the cooler weather.
Still coughing a lot but going to keep on kicking. We are headed to a day out with friends. Shane is going to hang out with his buddy Ed and the kids and I are gonna do a little shopping.

New SpringWidget

Get this widget!

MCCAIN/PALIN There is hope!

Finish up our vacation

Well, we found a church to attend on Sunday and then quickly enjoyed the ski lift one more time before it poured with rain and hail. We missed that by 10 minutes.

Monday, drove all the way home taking a scenic route. (Another words, we got off our beaten path accidentally)

Tuesday, we decided to use our free tickets and go to Six Flags. Were we nuts or what????? We had a great time, though!

Wednesday, drove to Holly Lakes for a few days at the timeshare. We swam a lot on Thursday and then Friday, before we left, did some fun things in Tyler. After that, we went to see Wall-E. It was okay but nobody was really excited about it!

Came home on Friday and are recovering today!

That is our big vacation.

(I wish you could see G right now....she is dancing to Hannah Montana's one day concert. She is wearing 3-D glasses. This is a hoot!!!)

Vacation 3

Vacation Part 3-We want to see a real bear :(

Friday night-G went for more aerobic exercising and we stayed here at the cabin. I had a headache because of the altitude and heat. It has surprisingly been a little warm in the afternoons. I have a killer sunburn on my head and nose. Lovely, huh?

Saturday-
Imagine this....up with the dawn again!!! We got up and G went on a hike around the river. The community center has great things for kids and good supervision, as well. We went to the laundry mat while she hiked. Picked her up and went to lunch at Capo's. It was VERY expensive and not all that great. G and I went to the community center so that she could build a boat and race it. You will see a picture of it. Pretty cool! She picked out the wood and really built it. She didn't win the race and if you know G....you know that it was devastating!
Shane and E met us at Old Frye's Town for the shootout and Indian dances. Well, the shootout was the same but there were no Indians. They had other things going on and didn't make it. We drove around the mountains after that and then ate a funnel cake. Hung out at the cabin and then went and heard a local band play at the community center lawn.

Sunday-
Getting ready for church. E is in full swing. Praying they have a nursery!!!

Postcard from us to you

We are having a GRAND time here in Red River! We love you all!


TO
Friends and Family

FROM
The Scotts

Vacation Day 2