Amy Scott's Thoughts

Sharing the thoughts that bounce around in my brain!

Summer is here! July 8, 2012

Filed under: Family Time — Amy Scott @ 10:20 pm

My first attempt at homemade popsicles! Raspberry lemonade!

Summer officially arrived this week! It’s been amazing weather and I’ve been enjoying every second of it! Now I get made fun of a lot for being very “white”, pretty much void of color… even in the summer months. What can I say? I have a desk job, people! The last few days I’ve done my best to be out in the sun, soaking up as many rays as possible! It’s been great!

This weekend really felt like summer all the way around! Friday was Jeremy and I’s awesome day in the Portland, OR area celebrating us and spending time together! The laid back summer feeling flowed right into Saturday when I got to sleep in! Oh, how I love sleeping in! My hubby is always so nice to take the doggie out the room once Toby decides it’s time to get up (usually 2 hours before I’m ready). Jeremy went off fishing for the morning and I cleaned the house and then went outside to read in the sunshine. Like I mentioned earlier, gotta work on that tan! Jeremy came home with some fish to bury in the yard. Apparently, the fish will fertilize his plants and make them happy. I just tried to keep Toby from getting a hold of one! The afternoon was spent making shortcakes for our ever abundant strawberries, reading, making homemade popsicles (a first for me), and doing tons of laundry. It was the perfect mix of fun and productivity. I felt like I got a lot done and yet I got to do it at my own pace. No rush. Perfect!

Abundant Strawberries!

With today being Sunday, I headed off to church as I do every Sunday morning. Nothing too out of the norm. When I got into children’ church, Jeremy asked me to go his office to get a package. I assumed it was some craft or activity for the morning, but it turns out my hubby was surprising me with roses for our anniversary! So sweet and a very creative way to give them to me. It was fun to get something at church because it made being at work on our anniversary special. After church, we headed over to Jeremy’s parents house where they treated us to a yummy anniversary lunch! The weather was perfect to sit back in the shade and catch up!

A walk around the park at sunset!

Once we got home, Jeremy and I continued our day by hanging in the yard. We picked more strawberries and I pulled out my book while Jeremy took care of his plants. Overall, we were just enjoying the outside time. For dinner, we drove down to Longview, WA for meal out. Stuffed full of too much good food, we decided to take a walk around Lake Sacajawea Park at sunset. Very picturesque and fun. The drive home was spent listening to a random shuffle of music and singing at the top of our lungs. We’re silly and we know it!

Even though Thursday was back in the office, the combination of Independence Day, my Dad’s birthday, celebrating our anniversary on multiple days and the overall summery, sunny days has made this week really feel like a mini-vacation. Or I guess they call it a “staycation” these days.  It’s been a lot of fun to hang out with my sweetie and family. The summer weather has decided to stay around for a while and I couldn’t be happier. We’ve got a busy week coming up as we prepare our first ever Family VBA. I’m hoping the sunshine will keep the vacation vibe going and help to me remain calm even under pressure. If I get overwhelmed this week, I really should head outside for a minute, close my eyes, take a deep breath, feel the warmth of the sun and remember it’s summer! It’s officially here!

 

A Week of Celebration! July 5, 2012

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time — Amy Scott @ 1:15 pm

Getting Ready for Sky!

This is a super fun week! It seems like there is something to party about each day! What’s not to like about that? The partying started this Sunday and Monday with VBA decorating parties (Vacation Bible Adventure). We’ve been transforming our building to gain momentum of our week of Sky VBA! It’s hard to believe that it will be here in a week and a half. Decorating in advance, especially before the registration deadline, is a  great way to get VBA in front of people and get them excited for it. However, these parties involved work and happened at work. While they were good, they were certainly not the highlight of the party themed week!

Celebrating our freedom!

Yesterday was Independence Day and it was great to celebrate in a very laid back way. I slept in. I read outside while Jeremy played in the yard (really his berry patch and garden). I came in and made a ton of waffles that didn’t turn out so well. I used a different kind of batter and it just wasn’t the same results. After my mid-morning meal, Jeremy, Toby and I took off into nature to go check on Jeremy’s trail camera. It wasn’t a long walk, but it was nice to walk off some of the waffle I ate. Later that afternoon, we went over my parent’s house to lounge around outside in the sun and barbeque! Very good day! Jeremy and I decided not buy fireworks this year so we could save for our upcoming trip to San Francisco and the Redwood Forest. We happily watched our neighbors show while roasting s’mores over our own fire. Nice! The only downside to the day was the fact that our Toby dog is scared of fireworks.  I eventually joined him in our closet for the last of the noise. He just needed a buddy to calm and protect him. Poor pup!

The partying just keeps on going! Today is my dad’s birthday, so Jeremy and I will join him later this afternoon to go see The Amazing Spiderman. We’ll have dinner at Chipotle and frozen yogurt for dessert! This is a classic Vitzthum family dinner! I can’t wait! It’s so beautiful outside and I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my day with family. It will be a good time celebrating another year of my awesome Dad!

Celebrating 6 Years! 7.8.06

Tomorrow, Jeremy and I are heading down to the Portland area to celebrate our anniversary. It’s a couple days early, but we figured it worked best for our schedule and why not celebrate “us” on multiple days! We love the Woodburn Factory Stores so we plan on doing some shopping and eating some yummy food. Jeremy is a shop for clothes once a year kind of guy, so the last time we did this was our anniversary last year! It’s always fun to get away with him and spend the whole day together.

As of now, Saturday holds no party plans, but that’s okay. I really need to clean my bathrooms… maybe I can make some kind of game in my head about how cleaning bathrooms can be like a party… I’m just not sure I can spin it that far… Oh well! Sunday is Jeremy and I’s actually anniversary. We have no current plans, but I’m sure it will be another amazing

day spent together getting to celebrate 6 years of marriage! It’s crazy how fast time flies… and yet, it feels like we’ve been together forever. Does that make sense?

So here’s to a week of celebrating! I plan on having a good time with those I love, eating a lot of good food and enjoying the sunshine! It doesn’t get better than this!

 

 

Draw Bridges, Oregon Zoo, Flat Tire, Chinese Food June 29, 2012

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time — Amy Scott @ 11:54 am

Okay, that title pretty much sums up my day yesterday! It certainly was a whirlwind of fun activities and strange experiences!

The Whole Zoo Group!

We left “almost” on time for the Oregon Zoo. My van only had 4 people in it… which has a funny story behind it! I kept saying we’re the Fab Five and the one student in the vehicle felt the need to keep her mouth shut. She didn’t have the heart to tell me we had only 4 people in our van. Upon further reflection, I was saying this in light of the fact that Jesus is always with us. So yes, counting Jesus, were the Fab Five! On the ride down we played the alphabet game as a group (trying to find a word that starts with each letter of the alphabet on signs and cars). Once we got to the Vancouver area, we noticed signs saying the draw bridge was up. As a result the freeway turned into a parking lot. The craziest part, was the leaders from our church vehicles started to get out and talk… ON THE FREEWAY! I was freaking out in the front seat of a church van. There was no way I was getting out onto the freeway, even if it was a parking lot. The guys were examining something that was going wrong with our shuttle’s muffler. So I guess that makes it okay. The kids in the shuttle thought for sure that they were parked next to Justin Bieber. One of the leaders got and asked to take picture with the person (who turned out to be a lady) just so the kids who think it was really him. After they all figured out it was a women, they called her Justine Bieber for the rest of the day. Too weird! Even more strange, she ended up at the Zoo just like us! So we saw a lot of “Justine”.

After a quick bathroom stop, we made it to the zoo. Just a little bit later than we had expected. From there it was make a plan and meet up in an hour for lunch. My sister and I led a group of 5 girls and we had a blast. There were moments where I was laughing so hard! For example, after lunch we headed to Africa. The girls asked us how we would get there and I said by plane.  That is the only way to get to Africa. As we started to walk, I made a comment that April was the pilot and on the girls was her co-pilot since they were up front. The next girl said she was in first class, me and two other girls behind her claimed we were in coach and the one girl behind us said that she must be in the bathroom because she was it the back of the plane! I also died! It was so funny!

Changing a flat tire!

The sunny hours at the zoo turned into a cloudy late afternoon as we left and headed home. A little sunburned and a little tired, we arrived back at Bethel Church. My brothter-in-law, Andrew, met us there so the four of us could go to dinner. But first, we had an issue of a flat tire from the day before that needed to be dealt with. I walked April and Andrew back to the car to show them the tire and before long the three of us were changing the tire. I should mention that none of us had ever removed a tire or placed a spare tire on a car before. We found the equipment in the trunk, which I was happy to learn that all stuff was located back there! Once we had the tools, we need to the know how. Being tech savvy, I pulled up YouTube on my phone and started to watch videos about changing tires. The video helped a little, but we decided we needed the owner’s manual. Once the manual was out, we got down to business! We had the tire changed by the time Jeremy got done seeing all the kids off from the zoo trip!

We left the church in a caravan to take the car to our local tire place.  The car was left in the care of trusty professionals and we headed of to Peking House for dinner. Taking kids around the zoo sure builds an appetite and we were starving! I think this might be our third time of getting Chinese food after the zoo trip, so it’s starting to become a tradition. It was a very tasty way to end a crazy, weird, educational, busy day!

 

The Not so Lazy, Crazy Days of Summer June 27, 2012

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time — Amy Scott @ 1:25 pm

It’s official been “Summer” for a week… even though the weather in Washington State seems to disagree! It’s been a rainy and cold month of June. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I have lived here my whole life. Summer really is July-September for us if you’re going off of the weather. However, at this moment the sun is shining and I can see blue sky. It makes me my heart happy!

Now summer is usually a time where people slow down, rest, sip lemonade… but not for me. Summer is one of our busiest seasons in children’s ministry. The kids are out of school and parents want activities to keep their kiddos active and engaged. A lot of fun stuff happens at the church during the summer, but as an administrative assistant, most of these fun activities come with permission slips, registration deadlines, reminder emails, reminder postcards, etc. Events don’t just throw themselves together. It gets busy around the office!

This Sunday was our first official registration deadline. We’re going to the Oregon Zoo tomorrow. This is always a fun, full day with the kids. We leave the church around at 8:00am and usually get back around 5:00pm (depends on Portland traffic which in some years has been bad – like detour around the state bad). The Zoo Trip is one of my favorite activities because of how relational it is. There is something special about spending the entire day out and about doing an activity with the kids. You get to learn a lot about the kids by spending time with them outside of the church walls. Lots of laughter and smiles happen at the zoo. As well as comments like, “I’m hungry” and “My feet hurt”, but I try not focus on those as much.

The rest of the summer seems completely full before it even started! The 4th of July, my Dad’s birthday, Jeremy and I’s anniversary, Family VBA, a road trip to San Francisio & the Redwoods, a new niece or nephew, kid’s camp, a leadership conference, a 5th grade graduation trip to the Mariner’s game, and a camping trip! I won’t be bored this summer! That’s for sure! It’s important for to remember that while all these are good things, I’m still going to need those down moments. I need a relaxed day here or there. Having slow, quiet times don’t just happen. They are intentional created.

A big bonus to this summer is Jeremy and I are actually going to take a trip! Most of the time I treat the summer as work only. It’s hard in between all of the events to find a time to get away. However, my hubby surprised me with the random idea of maybe going on a short road trip. I’m always game to go some place I’ve never been before, so we finally settled on the San Francisco area. Jeremy grew up outside of the city and I’m excited to see some places from his childhood. We’ll be driving home through the Redwood Forests, so we decided to camp for a few days there. I can’t think of any place cooler to camp than the Redwoods.  Most summers we get a weekend camping trip in, but this summer we get a 5 day road trip in July and a weekend camping trip in August. I feel like one blessed lady! I can hardly wait to pack up and go!

I know that the summer of 2012 is going to hold a lot of great memories and I’m excited to start making them!

 

Funny Story June 23, 2012

Filed under: Family Time,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 5:45 pm

I’ve been looking forward to this morning for a couple of weeks. Why? Because I was looking forward to a morning where I didn’t have to set an alarm. I love to sleep in! The busy pace of the last couple weeks was really catching up with me, so that made this morning stand out as even more important to me. I was going to protect it all costs!

Then, I found that family was going to be in town and a brunch was scheduled for 10:00am. For most that wouldn’t be a problem, but for me, sleeping in means getting up between 9:00-10:00am. What was I to do? I wanted to sleep in so badly, but I don’t get to see our Ellensburg family all that often. Talk about inner conflict.

I decided that this was just family. All of them had seen me unshowered while camping, so I was just going to roll out of bed in time to head to the brunch -throw on some jeans and put my hair in a pony tail. This is a big deal for those who know me well. If we’ve learned anything from the 5/7 Fasts this spring, my personal appearance means something to me (although I wish it didn’t).

As I was sleepily waking out the door this morning, I couldn’t help but feel blah because that is how I looked. When we started down the road to Jeremy’s parent’s house, we noticed his aunt and uncle were walking down the driveway. Then we notice another car in the driveway as well. I thought this was going to be an immediate family gathering and it turned out to be a little bigger than I expected.

Now, I know that no one cares that I showed up with bedhead. If the did, at least they didn’t voice it. However, I felt icky about it. I know I shouldn’t. I know I needed the sleep and I’m not ashamed of that. I guess I just have to be real and accept that I won’t always portray the perfect image at all times. Oh well! Still learning this lesson!

 

Father’s Day June 19, 2012

Filed under: Family Time,Recollections — Amy Scott @ 6:18 pm

I’m very blessed to have two great Dads in my life. Jeremy’s father, Bill, is a sweet man who is really good at strategy games and math. Anytime I need help adding points at a game, I’m pretty sure Bill is better than a calculator! Since Bill works at the church, I get to see him in action daily. He is always calm and steady. He works hard. He gets to the church before my alarm even goes off! He is dedicated to his work and to his family. I am so thankful for the influence he had is raising his son. I can see how God used Bill to shape Jeremy into the man that he is. I am thankful to have him as a father-in-law.

Father’s Day 2012

Even though my dad and I have some differences, I’m often concerned at just how similar we are. My mom often laughs when I’m talking to her and says things like “Your dad said the same thing” or “Your dad is the same way”. I’ve learned over time that my dad and I really do have some strange similarities. Occasionally, I wonder what God was thinking by making me so much like my father, but for the most part, I guess I should thank him. My dad is a pretty great guy. I guess that is an up side to being like him. Following in his footsteps probably isn’t a bad thing. My dad has always been someone I can talk to about the hard issues in life. I appreciate the honesty and openness I feel in our relationship. My dad has always worked hard to support our family. I will admit to being a bit spoiled growing before my dad discovered Financial Peace University. It was fun to be a daddy’s girl and get new stuff from my dad. Thanks, Dad, for all the clothes and Cabbage Patch dolls you purchased for me over the years, as well as the CDs and the concerts you took April and I (and our friends) to. The stuff really doesn’t matter, but I know that my dad cares about me.

The Softball Years

I’m often sorry that I wasn’t the sport star that my dad had hoped for. My family was big into the softball scene and my dad coached a lot of my teams. I certainly wasn’t the star player, it was great to have my dad around.  He treated me just like all the other kids because that is the way that my dad is – completely fair and very professional (even when it comes to Little League).  However, he could have chosen not to be there. He could have prioritized other things. So thankfully,even though the whole sports thing didn’t pan out for the Vitzthum girls, my dad was still there for us, regardless of how great we were.

Very few girls can probably say this, but one of my favorite things to do in high school was to get into the hot tub with my dad and discuss life. I remember talking with him about becoming president of the school Christian club or what college major I should get. My dad gave me the opportunity to travel to all my top colleges so I could make an informed decision. Being informed is very important to us. We’re natural researchers. My dad drove to the airport with me to get Jeremy in an ice storm. He let me stay up late and The Father of the Bride with him as a kid. I remember the bubbles at the beginning of the movie made me think it was a grown up movie because that was alcohol. I felt like I was getting away with something even though he let me watch the movie right by him! I also remember trying to tell my dad not to drink a soda on the way to a family vacation at the Oregon Coast, because that was “drinking and driving”. I didn’t realize that soda didn’t count!

I could post endless stories and memories about my dad and how much he means to me. I am thankful for the legacy he has given my sister and myself. We were always challenged to love the Lord and serve him first.  We were shown dedication and a hard work ethic. We were given experiences that shaped us into who we are today. So thank you, Dad! I wouldn’t be who I am without! I appreciate all you’ve poured into me. I’m proud to be your daughter! I love you!

 

Relocating June 12, 2012

Filed under: Family Time,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 10:07 pm

The Before!

Today was one of those days where I can say I worked hard! I mean really hard! In fact, I’m really not sure why I’m typing right now and not sleeping. Busy day! Very full of activity. I guess I need to explain a little bit.

With Pastor Vicki leaving at the end of May, I have taken over our Christian Education responsibilities at Bethel Church. It’s pretty much all about curriculum – which I love! I get to be in the decisions on what curriculum we provide at Bethel as well as keep track of current curriculum selection. With our new Growth Groups format, we’ll be resourcing a lot of group leaders with curriculum. Part of the fun will be finding something that works for them and keeping track of who has what.

In the process of Vicki leaving, our staff has started a game of musical offices. Jeremy’s mom, Debbie, moved into Vicki’s office, which meant that her office across the hall from Jeremy and I’s office was empty. The decision was made that this office would be a great option to house our all curriculum in one secure location. Since I’m the closest now to the curriculum at Bethel Church, I have moved into the office with the curriculum.

This morning the office started off as a peachy tan with nothing in it other than random items leftover from Debbie’s move. This morning we painted it a blueish-gray, let the paint dry over lunch, then we moved all the curriculum in and got it into place. I also moved my items from Jeremy’s office over into my new workspace. Seven hours of work have never been so full or so busy! I really couldn’t have done it without the help of my family. My mom came in (on her birthday, she’s so sweet) to help us tape. My sister was there pretty much the whole day – taping, painting, putting up shelves, organizing curriculum! Her husband, Andrew, came in for a while and helped get things put on the shelves as well. Jeremy helped with painting and getting me set up, but the extra hands from my family meant I didn’t have to dominate his whole work day with my move, so it all worked out well! Thanks to my wonderful family for making this day super productive! I got done double what I thought I would!

The After!

I think this new role will be an exciting, new challenge and I’m very excited and blessed by this new work space. However, I will admit that I’m a little sad to be moving out of Jeremy’s office. He has graciously shared his space with me. I know very few couples could work as closely has Jeremy and I have. I’m really going to miss him (even though he’ll be right across the hall). I’m so used to him sitting just a few feet away from me. I’m used to him making me laugh and listening to my thoughts as I think them. Now I’ll have to call him, text message him, shoot him an email or walk across the hall to share my thoughts. It’s going to be a strange change. It seems weird to feel a sense of loss, but we really have a great working relationship and I will miss being his office buddy.

I’m not 100% there yet, but I’m looking forward to getting settled into this new work space. I know that Jeremy isn’t too far away, so I’m sure the transition will be just fine. It’s all a little new to me in this moment and it can feel overwhelming, but I’m praying for God’s favor over these changes. I’m also praying for his peace as I step forward into new territory!

 

Happy Birthday, Nephew! May 28, 2012

Filed under: Family Time — Amy Scott @ 9:17 pm

Today is my wonderful nephew’s 2nd birthday! I couldn’t go without a blog shout out to my favorite nephew, Carson! Right now he is my one and only nephew so it makes it pretty easy to shower all my auntie attention on him. He will be a big brother in July and I’m excited to know if I’ll be have another nephew or maybe a niece this time!

This Saturday, we all assembled at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, WA to celebrate the glorious birthday! It was perfect weather – not too hot and beautifully sunny! It was a joy to watch Carson’s reaction to each animal! I also got to share a few moments one on one with my little nephew. I treasure these times to snuggle or hold his little hand. So sweet!

After the zoo, we went to a picnic area in the park to have cupcakes and watch Carson open presents! It was so much fun to watch his face as he opened his gifts. He was very excited and played with each one.  Another highlight was listening to him chatter on! I will admit that I don’t understand much of what he says, but I’m so excited for the day where I can understand all his stories! From what I can tell he has a lot of them to share!

Celebrating Carson’s birthday was the highlight of my Memorial Day weekend. I’m so blessed by his addition to our family! I love being an aunt! Every time we get to hang out is special. Family is very important to me, so I look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with Carson as well as future nieces and nephews!

PS – A close second highlight of the weekend, was my brother-in-law arrived today from Kansas! It’s official! My family is all back in the Northwest! This was a very happy weekend to celebrate family!

 

The Bad Blog Follow-Up May 19, 2012

Filed under: Family Time,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 9:21 pm

It’s a just like a sister to help me add to my blog about what I’m bad at! April let me know that she thought I should have hills added to my list. It’s true. I don’t like hills. As you can guess, that means I’m not much of a hiker. Unless you consider hiking to be walking on a flat surface. In fact, I used my hatred of hills as a part of my college decision process. After visiting Seattle Pacific University and staying in a dorm room at the top of the hill, I decided I just couldn’t do a hill daily. However, funny thing, while Multnomah had no hills on campus, we did have to walk up a small hill and a couple flights of stairs to get to chapel. Since it was a good Christian college, we had chapel almost everyday. So much for avoiding hills. At least, I only have to go there once a day verses up and down multiple times a day. I’ve also been asked why I decided not to climb Mt. St. Helen’s with my hubby, but I think the answer should be obvious! It’s a giant hill!

Now the another thing I thought of after the fact was video games! April spent the night last night while my hubby was away at a men’s conference. It’s nice to have someone else around the house so I don’t have to be home alone all night long. I know I have a dog, but at 13 pounds, he isn’t too intimidating to potential intruders! Anyway, April and I played some Wii Party and it came to me. I’m really bad at video games. We tried our hand at Super Mario Bros a couple weeks ago and we struggled at the first castle. Apparently lava is deadly. Go figure! So yes, video games. I’m very bad at them!

Just thought you should know!

 

 

Mother’s Day May 16, 2012

Filed under: Family Time,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 1:19 pm

So far, I’ve been writing about my own Mother’s Day experience with preaching. However, since I am not a mother, I want to emphasize the point that Mother’s Day is not about me. I want to take few moments to thank some ladies in my life who mean a lot to me. They are the reason this day is special!

First off, I think it goes without saying that I have an awesome mom. She’s seriously the best! She’s not like most moms and I appreciate that. She didn’t pretend to have all the answers, she didn’t raise me to be a girly girl, she always had my back and made sure I was safe. I might not have a traditional mother, but her wisdom and encouragement over the years have shaped me into who I am today. I can look back on my childhood and know that my mom made Jesus a priority in our home. The faith that parent’s lived in front of me was a foundation for my lifetime relationship with the Lord. I’m thankful for the honest conversations I am able to have with her and for her prayer support in my life. My mom is seriously one of the biggest blessings in my life!

I am blessed to have a mother-in-law that loves deeply loves her family. I can see that in how she has raised her boys to be the men that they are today. I am so thankful for Jeremy’s parents and how they have influenced him. I can say that they did a good job! Since my mother-in-law had all boys, it’s been fun to watch to her have daughters now that all her boys are married. I appreciate all the prayers and support she lends to our family. I get the  joy of having monthly lunch dates with my mother-in-law and I know from these times that she cares about what is going in my life and has a genuine interest in the things I care about. I am blessed to be a part of her family!

I have ladies in my life who I would consider mentors. They are women I can talk about life with. I know that I can trust them and that they love me simply as I am. Jeannie Collins has been a constant source of strength and encouragement in life for over a decade! She’s been with me through a lot of life’s ups and downs. She’s shared many tears, smiles, hugs, and mornings of red cup day with me! Jeannie has always been there to cheer me on and her voice in my life has made a world of difference! Vicki Judd has encouraged me to step up in ministry. She is an advocate for women in ministry and has been a firm supporter in me following after the big dreams God has place in my life. Getting to share the stage with her on Mother’s Day was a big deal for me. It’s a memory that I won’t forget. Our theme was In Her Steps and let me say, Vicki’s shoes will be hard to fill as leaves Bethel Church at the end of this month.

I’m thankful for the many ladies that God has placed in my life. Each is unique blessing! Honestly, I could write endlessly about the love I’ve been shown from the women mentioned above and many others who are not listed. There are so many great women who have poured into me and helped shape me into the woman I am today. I’m thankful for their influence, prayers, encouragement and support. I can’t say thank you enough!