Amy Scott's Thoughts

Sharing the thoughts that bounce around in my brain!

Ice Storms and Power Outages! January 20, 2012

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 12:48 pm

I have to admit, I’m pretty happy that I have the ability to be writing this blog! Yesterday around noon we lost our power due to an ice storm that decided to move in right after the snow storm. The combination of lots of snow and ice made for many downed trees and branches all around the area.

Remember how I said in my last blog that things could be rescheduled? Well, that is exactly what had to happen! I made some calls yesterday and learned that most places were closed and want everyone else to stay home. Since Jeremy and I were still trapped in our house, now covered in ice, we knew that it was another snow day for us… I mean, ice day! Jeremy got the house all warm with our wood stove and then sat by the window with it open. Why would he do this? To listen to all the trees cracking, of course!!! It was like the 4th of July around our house. You could hear trees and branching going down all around us.

The power being out wasn’t too big of a deal. We had filled the bath tub with water so we could use our toilets. We had charged our laptops so we watched a couple of Smallville episodes. Jeremy’s parents were super sweet and offered to pick us up so on the main road so we could go to dinner with them. It was nice to get out of the house for a bit since I’d been home since Monday afternoon (I didn’t mind being home all that much). When we got home it was dark, no more natural light for our house. I pulled out a bunch of tea-lights and candles that I had stashed away for such a time as this. It’s crazy when you have no lights on how late it feels. We got home around 6:00pm, but with the darkness I seriously felt it was 8:00-9:00pm. After a few more Smallville episodes, Jeremy and I called it a night. It was amazing how dark things were with no house lights.

This morning, Jeremy discovered water coming out our freezer. It was starting to defrost from the lack of power. We called Jeremy’s dad, who had offered to let us borrow their generator the night before. Jeremy and I went outside to shovel the driveway so his dad could pull in. However, according to Bill we would still need chains to get into or out of our driveway. Jeremy and Bill got the generator all set up and our fridge all plugged in. Of course just a few moments later the power came on! That’s how it works!

So we are a still house bound. We have chains, but we don’t need to use them so we won’t. We’ll let the rain melt the snow a little more. Maybe tomorrow we can venture out without the help of others! It seems that wind is moving into the area tonight. The trees are still a bit icy and already slightly damaged from the ice storm. I’m still in power-outage preparedness mode. We’ll be ready if lose it again tonight. Along with wind, the snow melt poses a threat for flooding. Crazy times in Lewis County, folks!!!!

 

More Snow Creatures January 18, 2012

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 8:21 pm

Okay, I thought 9 inches of snow was cool yesterday. Today, I woke up to 22 inches of snow! It was a pretty amazing sight! This morning my hubby, puppy and I set out to explore our extremely wintery wonderland. It was crazy to have the snow come up over my boots. Since I don’t own snow pants, it was sort of a chilly walk, but totally worth it. Toby, our dog, was bounding through the snow or following behind our paths we created. We called them snow tunnels and our yard is now a maze of them. When we walked on the road, we could find ruts that would make it easier for Toby to walk. It was fun to see the snow piled up higher than Toby.

We went back out again tonight since we weren’t sure what tomorrow holds. Jeremy kept brainstorming the next snow creation we could make. The snow creature took on many different possible shapes. It started out as snow horse…. it sort of looked like snow seal. It then become snow sphinx… then snow lion, snow tiger, snow…. dinosaur? We’re not really sure that he is! But I think he is cute no matter what he is!

It seems the local schools are already decided to cancel for tomorrow. Even though snow plows are clearing up roads, most people just like us, still can’t get to them. Our driveway is still buried in over a foot of snow! I’m not sure what tomorrow morning holds… I feel like tomorrow is the day I have to go back to being an adult. The kid in me wants another snow day, but somethings can not be avoided. I guess it really all depends on if we can drive out of the our driveway. Part of me knows I need to go back to the real world, but part of me hopes we can’t make it. Things can always be rescheduled, right???

 

Snow Day! January 17, 2012

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 12:08 pm

It’s been snowing all weekend and yesterday into today it really started to come down! At this point, we have about nine inches on the ground! Right now the snow if falling thick right outside my window. It’s recovering from the mess my husband and I made this morning. Our snow is no longer pristine and untouched. Jeremy and I headed out this morning with a plan to make a snow creation. Last year Jeremy made a snow bear. It was really cute and made it’s way on to the news. It was Jeremy’s claim to fame! This year, I joined the force and we created what would be a snow grizzly that makes last year’s snow bear look like a snow cub! Our new and improved snow bear is about 8ft. tall! It’s always crazy to stand next to a snow creation that is taller than me! Earlier this weekend Jeremy went out and made himself a snow deer. Now that we’ve gotten many inches more, snow deer looks like snow buffalo. I’m sad to say that in the time that I took the shot and now, snow deer/buffalo has lost his head. Poor guy! Snow days are so much fun! I love getting to sleep in and play in the snow! I love the bright light that comes from the reflections on the snow! I love getting lost in the moment as I look out the window to many snowflakes pouring down. These are some of my favorite days! Now it’s not the back to routine lifestyle that I was thinking of this week, but I’m okay with it! Snow days are rare on this side of Washington. I have to enjoy these moments while I can. It seems like we still might have another foot or more in the forecast for tomorrow. We’ve already lost power for about a half hour, but lucky for us we have plenty of wood for our wood stove.  It’s time to snuggle in and joy a snow day!

 

Getting Creative January 16, 2012

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 5:33 pm

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks. My sister just flew home to Kansas today after a three week visit. It was so great to have her and her husband come out to visit for the holidays. April was kind enough to stay through my birthday. Having April there to celebrate with me truly made it a special day. My sister and I are close. Very close. We spent a lot of time together over the break and I’m greatly concerned about withdrawals now that she is gone. My consolation prize is the fact that I got a blanket of snow for my birthday and it keeps getting thicker! So right now I’m snuggled up on the couch with a blanket on my lap, a fire in the wood stove and snowflakes falling outside as the last bit of daylight fades away. I’m sad to see my sister go home, but I am looking forward to getting back to some form of routine. Returning to a more regular blogging schedule would fall under that thought. Here I am! Ready to blog!

I’ve had many opportunities to hang out with my mom and sister. On Thursday, we ran some errands together. Mom and I had been invited to a friend’s baby shower so we hit our local Carters outlet for cute boy gifts. We decided to combine our efforts and give one big gift. As we purchased the box for the present, we all had the thought – I wonder if everything will fit in this box. I was over confident.  I assumed that I could fold all the little tiny items into the right shape to shut the box. Well, I was wrong. A bear towel just wouldn’t fit. I tried to tuck it here and there, but no place seemed right. I was puzzled for a minute trying to figure it all out… then it came to me!!! I decided to turn the towel into the wrapping paper! It worked quite well! It made the gift super cute and feel super soft. I’ve collected ribbon from various projects so I tied the gift up using blue and silver ribbon. I thought the end result was nice and that I would share it with you. Sometimes moments of creativity come out of perplexing situations. Since the towel couldn’t fit in the box, I literally had to think outside of the box. Keep your eyes open for fun ways that you can jazz up gifts by using a part of the gift itself!

 

 

A new year and another year January 7, 2012

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time,Recollections,Simply Me,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 9:28 pm

Right now I’m smack dab in the the middle of the New Year and my 26th birthday. It’s a very contemplative time as I ponder 2012 and turning another year older. What will this year hold? This might sound strange, but I’m not a fan of odd numbers, so I’m always happy when I enter an even calendar year and even year of age. As much as I don’t want to be another year older, I am somewhat comforted by the fact that it will be an even year. Like I said, I’ve been thinking a lot… it’s something I probably do way too much in general. Here is what has been bouncing around in my head…

When asked what my new year’s resolutions are I had to say none. I have no goals set for 2012. My mom said this was healthy since according to her I’m scary when it comes to goals. I will be the first to admit that I like to be working towards something and that I have pretty high standards for myself. I’ve been thinking about a lot about my standards. I’ve been looking back in my mind to the standards I set for myself as a  youth student. I’ve been remembering the things that I was passionate about and that shaped the adult I’ve become. I was blessed with a group of friends and family that held me accountable to the high standards I set for myself. Because of the high standards I’ve always had in place, I find that I hold others to equally high standards. Now I don’t judge when someone isn’t like me or not on the same page as me. I just care a lot about my friends and family. I want the best for them. This leads me to holding a pretty firm line in some areas of life. It’s been a challenge for me to watch some people that care about deeply make choices I don’t always support. I can give my two cents when it’s asked for, but really, I’m not in control of others (DUH!) and I’m not responsible for their choices. As a teacher at my church, it’s hard when this happens with students. I feel in some way that I let down in my training. While, I know that isn’t true, I feel the weight of their choices.

As I’ve been pondering the standards that I hold for others, I started to evaluate the standards that I currently have for myself. If you’re going to teach, the Bible says that you’re going to be held to the standard of your own teaching and higher. I started to look at myself deeply and wondered if I’m really walking the walk that goes behind all my talk. Now, I haven’t had any major revelations about poor standards in my life, but I have come to the conclusion that I need to do better. I have so not arrived yet… I’m so far off from being the person I need to be. Even today, I had to apologize for a blunder I made and a lapse in judgement. I’m still human no matter how hard I strive to be perfect. Tonight at church, we sang two songs that mentioned weakness and being weak. In the car ride to church I was praying about that is how I felt, so it no surprise for me to see the theme of weakness coming out in worship. I feel so weak. I know that in my weakness God can do great things. I also know His strength and power is revealed in times of weakness. I just don’t feel like some strong spiritual giant. I feel small. I’m a bit of a control freak who has through a lack of control in life turned a bit paranoid. I can see healthy tendencies in my thoughts and perceptions. I know there are roads I don’t want to go down. I need to refresh my mind and my way of thinking.

All being said, here is what I came up with as my solutions and in a way somewhat my resolutions for the this coming year. I need to pray more. I find that I’m good when I have time to write out my thoughts, but I need to be praying a lot more than I am now. When I try to do things on my own, I fail. I need God to be a conscience part of my every moment. I need to invite him to live each day with me. I know the lines of communication need to be more open for me to see growth in my life. I believe that a focus on prayer coupled with my Bible reading will be a backbone for growth in me this coming year. Bottom line – I want to be better. I want to be a better wife, sister, daughter, friend, employee, teacher, mentor and overall follower of Christ. I know that the people in my life and my Savior deserve my best. I pray that God will give me the strength to make changes in my own heart. If I start with making a difference in my life then I can truly do a better job of making difference in the life of others. This is what I look forward to in 2012 and hope being 26 will be defined as – a year of change – a year where I get better. I believe the this desire to get better will be something I struggle with every year. I think it’s the desire for eternity in my heart. It’s my desire to be truly made right and whole by the love of my Savior. I will someday know this feeling to the fullest, but for now I will make small strides towards the woman God wants me to become.

 

New Year’s Eve January 3, 2012

Filed under: Family Time — Amy Scott @ 8:58 am

New Year’s Eve is an extra special day for me. It’s my sister’s birthday and ever since I can remember we’ve celebrated her birthday right up until midnight. She’s got in good in that department. Most people celebrate their birthdays with loved ones into the evening, but April really get a full day of birthday honor.

Celebrating April’s birthday this year was super meaningful, even though we did all of things we normally do. April has been living in Kansas for the last six months, but is home for a couple week for the holidays and to celebrate her birthday with family. It’s been great having April and her husband, Andrew, around to hang out with. We last saw each other in Chicago which was very fast paced trip. It’s been great to have some down time with them and just be chill. Many days have been spent playing video games, watching movies and eating a ton of food!

This New Year’s Eve was very much like those of the past. April always requests Chinese food as her birthday meal, so we went to the Great Wall in Salkum for dinner. We all enjoyed a yummy meal and fun conversation. They have these place mats at the restaurant that tell you what your birth year is on the Chinese calendar. Even though we’ve read the descriptions thousand of times, we still discuss them. I finally put together that half of our family our rabbits – Mom, Andrew and April. Rabbits are supposed to avoid Cocks which would be Jeremy. I’m a tiger and I’m supposed to avoid monkeys which would be my father! What strange family dynamic we have if this silly place mat were true!

After dinner, we headed back to our home for dessert. We played some Wii party after dessert and then my parents took off for the night. They aren’t night owls and didn’t feel like welcoming the new year with us. I’m sure they were happy to be home in bed at midnight. April, Andrew, Jeremy and I settled in for a night of video games, board games, a mini dance party, and lots of laughs! This is the first time that I’ve gotten to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home since I’ve been married. Most of the time, Jeremy and I travel to my parent’s house or April’s house to spend the evening. It was harder for me to stay awake this year because I knew my own bed was right around the corner. This lead to me drinking a lot of soda to stay awake. That was great when it got me through midnight. Not so great when I couldn’t fall asleep when I went to bed.

It’s been a fun vacation. I’m still out of the office this week. My hubby took off this morning for work as per usual. It was strange to send him off while I’m still in my pajamas on the couch. We’ve really enjoyed time with friends and family over the last few weeks. I’m blessed to be the family that I am. I’m so grateful for what each member of my family brings to my life. In a world of family dysfunction, I know it’s something special that I can say I’m friends with my family and I genuinely enjoying spending time with them. In fact, that is what my plans are today. I’m going to head up to my parent’s house and just spend the day hanging with family. Hope that you’re enjoying your start to 2012! I know I am!

 

The Simplest Things December 28, 2011

Filed under: Bible,Family Time — Amy Scott @ 1:43 pm

Right now I’m in the midst of my Christmas break which has been awesome, but sadly brought down by a massive head cold. I’ve been able to do all that I wanted and hoped for – just while being medicated… kind of a bummer, but a break is a break and I’ll take it! We spent a lot of time with Jeremy’s family over the weekend and yesterday my sister and brother-in-law arrived from Kansas. We’ve had a great time connecting with them and playing lots of video games. They boys will play Call of Duty MW3 and when we all play together it’s Wii Party. Good times. Tonight we’re heading up to my parent’s house for our immediate family Christmas celebration. It’s fun to push the holiday out just a little longer.

As you can tell my normal blogging schedule is a little off. I apologize to all readers, but I think it’s a good thing when there is so much life going on that I don’t have to write about it. Makes me feel like I’m really living! Nothing dramatic, just filling the time in good ways! Today I was reading my Bible while everyone took turns getting ready. I found myself in Matthew chapter 6. It seems the simplest things and the simplest sentences can be the most powerful. This verse is highlighted in my Bible and I’m always so profoundly hit by it. I wish I could really own this verse and live it out. “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Matthew 6:27. I suffer from anxiety. I get nervous about everything and worry all the time! It’s amazing! I know it does NOTHING, but yet I am prone to it. I should really post this verse all over my house, car, and office! Worrying does me nothing. Even on Christmas break, I have found myself worrying about what others think, worrying about the schedule, worrying about this, worrying about that. I’m on a vacation and worrying seems to follow me! So today I am remind that worrying will not bring me more time or a better outcome. Give up the worry and just live!

 

 

Cookie Exchange December 23, 2011

Filed under: Cooking Experiments — Amy Scott @ 11:07 am

Let’s try this again! On Tuesday, I tried to write a blog about my cookie exchange experience, but sadly, I hit the wrong button and there it all went – poof! Gone! I was so frustrated that I didn’t try again. So now I’m trying again… but I will admit that since then I’ve developed a head cold so my brain is fuzzier than when I first tried. Let’s call this the cliff notes version of my previous blog. Sorry, folks!

Our office ladies and pastors wives have put on a Christmas cookie exchange the past two years. I didn’t make it the first one – only my cookies did. So this was my first real experience other than the baking. I picked a way too complicated cookie last year. I had learned from my mistake and chose a drop cookie this go around. Also we all learned that a dozen cookies each was too much. It was a lot of baking, but in return we were all left with a lot of cookies to eat. We changed the number to a half a dozen cookies for everyone. This was a lot more manageable and gave me a nice platter of cookies right before the holidays with a lot of company coming into town.

I knew that I wasn’t going to the store before I needed to bake the cookies. This left me the option of anything in my pantry which was starting to become limited. Jeremy and I are in a phase where we eat everything before we go back to the store. Needless to say, I was low on a lot of items, but not pumpkin. We had purchased four cans before thanksgiving and had only used one up to that point. I decided on a pumpkin cookie from a cookie magazine. My mom is no longer eating sugar so she gave me a bunch of Christmas cookie magazines since she would no longer need them. It was hard to decide what cookie to make since I had so much inspiration! The pumpkin cookies were very soft and cake like. I really like baked goodies like that.

Now I was supposed to frost them and sprinkle cinnamon on top. The day before I had purchased paper boxes that look like take-out containers. They had penguins on them and I couldn’t refuse the clearance price of forty-nice cents! Since these boxes were already purchased, I thought the frosting situation might make them a bit too messy. The cookies would be good both ways, I’m sure. They tasted great without frosting, but I’m also sure they would be amazing with frosting.

We met at my mother-in-law’s house (she is the Director of Operations at the church). We enjoyed a Christmas brunch, a small birthday celebration and exchanged the cookies. It was a good time and a nice way to start of my Christmas break. As of now I’m out of the office until January! Yay! I’m just like a kid! I love my Christmas break! I’m not sure that I will get to the blog again before Christmas so let me say Merry Christmas to you all!

 

Getting back to routine December 20, 2011

Filed under: Bible — Amy Scott @ 8:18 pm

Why is it so hard to get back into routine? It seems like a break from the usual scheduled programing for a few weeks and its like pulling teeth to get back into my old patterns. I’m talking about my Bible reading plan. I finished reading the Bible for this year at the end of November. Instead of starting my next plan right away, I gave myself a short break. I’ve been trying for the last week to get back into my flow and I’m finding that it’s been more of a struggle than I would like. I really do love reading my Bible. Once I open it, I’m glad that I did. It’s just the getting to the point where I’m sitting quietly and I’m not distracted. This time of year is hard when it comes to distractions! They are everywhere! It might be choosing to watch a Christmas movie, connect with a friend, bake, clean or work! There is a lot to do! However, especially at this time of year, it’s important to make that quiet time with the Lord a priority. It’s a weird concept to think that we get all worked about Christmas and what God did at this time many years away, but to not really acknowledge him during this season. It needs to be more than just adding “God bless” to a Christmas card. So even though I’m struggling, it’s worth it! As an act of worship and way to connect with my Savior, I will spend my time with the one who gives true value to my life. I will recommit to reading His word throughout the entire year. It’s amazing how every year I love it more and new things stand to me as I walk through different seasons. The Bible is not something you read once and check it off your list. I will forever have a lifetime relationship with this book!

 

Fa la la la la la la la December 15, 2011

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 3:07 pm

Last night I had a chance to go caroling with a group from my church. I’ll be honest and say that caroling really isn’t my thing. Back in high school, I was in choir so I was daily practicing my singing voice. Nowadays, driving in the car is the only time I sing loudly. Needless to say, my skill level has taken a drastic change for the worse. I was never the greatest singer and now I’m really not the greatest singer. However, I know that I didn’t need to have the best singing voice to bring cheer to those in need this time of year.

Jeremy and I lead a group to a seniors apartment complex in Chehalis, WA. We are both strong leaders, but not strong choir directors. Our group walked the halls of three floors of apartments singing as we went. Since no one in our group was a really strong singer, we all kind of floundered our ways through the songs together. The good news is there was enough of us to fill the hallways with sound. It’s nice to sing in a group where you’re voice isn’t standing out because the group is too small or too quite. We were able to make a joyful noise and that’s all that matters.

I dressed in light layers since I knew the apartments would be warm, but wow, I could have dressed for the tropics and still been too warm. I felt slightly self-conscience as I walked the halls with my red, overheated face being flushed. Many of the residents kept their doors shut (I wonder if our talent had something to do with that?), but for those that opened their doors we had great conversations. I’m amazed at how many sweet old ladies have bowls of candy ready to pass out to children! The kids in our group loved the free handouts and gladly accepted them!

We were given a handout with the lyrics to about 8 classic Christmas carols. As we walked the halls we cycled through the songs. When we stopped at a open door we often asked if they had any requests. The kids would rattle of the list of songs we had words for. The best part was when one of the kids said “Hank the Herald Angles Sing” because the cursive font made the R look like an to them. Moments like that make for fun memories. Once we made it to the third floor we were getting pretty tired. A lot of walking and singing had worn us down and our singing quality had gone down. As we awkwardly tried to hit high notes that would no longer come out, we would start to giggle at how bad we sounded. Once the giggles took hold it was hard to recover the song. I think the giggles might have come from the lack of oxygen we were getting while singing.

The smiling faces and the conversations made the night worth it. It’s important to bless those who might be widows or away from family during the holiday season. Many in these apartments have limited mobility so it was nice to be bring a blessing to them. It was a great opportunity for families to do something special together. There were a lot of great teaching moments for the kids throughout the night. After a couple of years of caroling at the holidays, I can’t say that it has gotten easier. I still get really nervous about my voice and the interactions with people.  It’s not in my comfort zone to show up unannounced at someone’s door. I do know that I was asked by my pastoral team to lead a group with Jeremy. I knew that I had a obligation to my team and to my congregation who would be taking a lead from my excitement level. Sometimes in ministry you have to do things you don’t love to do, but they are a blessing to others and they are opportunities to deepen connections with people. I’m glad that we went and I’ll have some good memories to go along with my sore throat. Overall, I learned that it doesn’t matter how well we did the job, it was just that we did it with a cheerful heart.