Amy Scott's Thoughts

Every year our church office closes in between Christmas and New Year. It’s always a blessing and I appreciate this time off so much. For the last few years, Jeremy and I have taken the last of his vacation days before this week off. This allows for about 2 weeks off around the holidays. I will admit that I’m like a school kid – I LOVE the Christmas break. It’s perfect for visiting with friends and family.

Lots of people have asked what we planned do with our time off. I think most assumed we would travel or something, but nope. We’re doing a staycation. It’s been so relaxing! Monday, I was able to clean my house because I had been putting it off. I  did a lot of reading as well. Jeremy is now the proud owner of an Xbox, so we did some bowling and table tennis with the Kinect. It was lots of fun just to be chill and hang out.

Monday night we also watched White Christmas and then within minutes of finishing the movie, it started to snow here. It was perfect! Both Jeremy and I love to watch snowflakes fall, so we just stared out the window in happiness. Monday night, we also put our one month free trial of Hulu Plus into action. I will now admit that I’ve joined the many who watch Downton Abbey. It’s been so good to have a new show to watch. I’ve certainly had the time this week!

Snowflake Lane!

Tuesday was a lot of Downton Abbey and then Jeremy, my sister, and I went up north to see Snowflake Lane! It’s a holiday music and lights show on one of the main streets by Bellevue Square. They make it “snow” every night during the show. Now, I know we had just seen real snowflakes that day, so it wasn’t quite the same thing, but it was still a pretty cool effect. It turns out that they use soap suds. I would have never thought of that. Before the show, we had a different meal at The Cheesecake Factory. We opted to eat out of the patio (in December) so we could be seated right away. They had their heaters on, but it was still cold enough to keep my jacket on while eating. It was interesting to be the street and hear the Christmas music playing and the people bustling by. It was very cold on the street for the show, so we warmed up by walking around the mall a bit and getting hot beverages at Starbucks! I have to get as many red cups as I can!

Today I did a little bit of work by having lunch with a friend to talk with her about Growth Groups at our church. It was a good lunch and I was glad for the opportunity to catch up with her and help her find a place to serve at Bethel Church. I always get passionate about encouraging people to find the right fit in the church. Serving is just so life giving. I stopped by the office to drop off some stuff and pick up a few things. It was fun to say hi to everyone and get hugs! I was quickly on my way back home to hang out with my hubby and of course, watch more Downtown Abbey.

I’m not really sure what the rest of my staycation looks like…. probably a lot more reading and maybe more fiddling with Hulu. I have a coffee date tomorrow with my network mentor. It will be a little bittersweet because it might be the last time I meet with her before she heads back to the mission field in Africa. I’ve been so blessed to get to know her. I know her prayers have been with me and mine I have been with her.  I will certainly miss my times with her. On a happier note, I hope to drive around looking at Christmas lights one of these evenings. That is something I love to do every year. As for traditions and hopes, many have been fulfilled over the last week and I’m really pretty happy and well-rested! It’s been a great staycation and I’m sure it will keep being awesome!