Amy Scott's Thoughts

A Snow Day, a Birthday and More! January 18, 2017

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 3:07 pm

Last Wednesday turned into a lovely snow day. We got 7 inches of snow and our local area shut down for the day. School and church was cancelled. We enjoyed walks in the snow and a relaxed day at home. The snowflakes were so pretty. You could see them all individually and how unique they each were. This unexpected snow was very welcome! However, the snow did stick around for a while because of the temperatures and made the roads a mess for quite a while. The rain started yesterday and the snow is gone. I miss it on the grass, but I won’t miss it on the roads.

Thursday morning, we very carefully drove out of Lewis County on to a great Canadian adventure! I didn’t mention it in my last post because I wasn’t sure it was going to happen until Wednesday afternoon. Thursday we drove into Steveston Village. This is seriously my favorite place on Earth. It makes me so happy. The boys played in the park and we walked the boardwalk. Graham is at the pickle age where he doesn’t want to be held but he doesn’t want to walk with the family. It was a challenge on this outing, but we made it despite some drama. Also, Owen was scared that Graham would go into the river, so that was some drama too. It’s sweet to see Owen concerned for Graham, but it borders on the line of crazy. We hit a Tim Hortons (doughnuts) and Canadian Tire (an everything but the kitchen sink kind of store). Our evening was spent back at the hotel, swimming in the pool.

Friday, we got coffee in Steveston at Waves, our favorite Canadian coffee shop! We drove into Granville Island and explored the market and the shops. We got lunch at Go Fish on the water. It was the perfect morning! Our afternoon was spent doing a little shopping. Then back to the hotel for more swimming. We couldn’t decide on dinner and the boys were tired which meant a sit down restaurant could have been dramatic. We settled on McDonald’s with a play place so the boys could run around and move. The menu is different enough that it still felt like a unique experience. We ordered on touch screens which was also special. Jeremy and I both got poutine which is french fries with brown gravy and cheese curds. Poutine is a must when in Canada. We got the boys some Kinder Surprise eggs as a treat and then it was bed time.

Early Saturday morning was quite eventful. Graham was up at 12:30am, crying and then again at 3:00am. It took an hour to get him back to sleep. At 4:30 Owen realized that Lamby was in the van and that he NEEDED him. In ordered to keep Owen from having a meltdown and waking up Graham, who I had just gotten to sleep, I went down to the parking lot to get Lamby. At 4:30am, I was in the freezing hotel parking lot singing happy birthday to myself. Owen went down in time for Graham to wake up at 5:00am. I finally got Graham to sleep in bed with Owen and I (I should mention that Owen was my bed buddy the whole trip. We had to two queens so Owen and I slept in one and Jeremy slept in the other and Graham mostly slept in the Pack’N’Play). I fell back asleep around 6:00am balancing on the very edge of the bed. At 7:30am, I woke up and slid down to the end of the bed so I wouldn’t fall off and would have more covers. When Jeremy woke up at 7:45am, the boys and I were quite the sight to behold.

Needless to say, I was exhausted most of my actual birthday and just wanted to go back to bed all day long. We had done some research for breakfast since we hadn’t found a good breakfast spot in BC yet. We settled on a place called Jethro’s Fine Grub because it had been featured on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives on Food Network. It was a small whole in the wall kind of place with huge portion sizes. I got “greeeat cakes” which were pancakes with blueberries and frosted flakes. They gave me two pancakes that were bigger than the plate and super thick. I was not able to finish my meal, if you were wondering! It was a very tasty experience and I always love discovering new things in the Vancouver area. We took off for home after another stop at Waves. We had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and took our dessert to go. Happy birthday to me!

Sunday I celebrated my birthday with my family. It was a classic evening of pizza, cake and ice cream. Yum! Bill & Debbie got me a deep fryer and Owen couldn’t wait to use it! On Monday, we fried some fries and coconut shrimp. Jeremy got ambitious and made doughnuts! Looks we’ll have a lot of fun experimenting with this new kitchen appliance. Monday was MLK Jr. Day so the other adults were home. Jeremy and Owen checked on the Winlock house in the morning and we all spent the afternoon playing Monopoly Deal. Jeremy and Owen built a snowman with the remaining snow. It was a nice, slow paced day with everyone home.

Now we’re back to the real world and normal schedules. I tried to think of some brilliant and deep things to say about being 31, but I can’t think of anything. The only thing that comes to mind is that Baskin Robbin has 31 flavors… and I’m 31. There you go!

PS… No news on the house situation. Prayers are still greatly appreciated for our Winlock house to sell so we can move forward with building on the property. Thank you!

Chilling out at the end of a long day

Snowflake!

Snow baby

Taking a walk with his snowball

Vancouver BC Day 1

Vancouver BC Day 2

Vancouver BC Day 3

Birthday celebration with the family

Jeremy the deer whisperer

Making doughnuts

Love that cheesy smile!

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Definitely Winter Time January 9, 2017

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 2:31 pm

The first week of 2017 has been a white one. The snow that came in last weekend stuck around thanks to freezing temperatures. One night our low got to 9 degrees and the next morning I had many Facebook friends saying their pipes froze! Yesterday we had freezing rain that kept the boys and I home from church and put a layer of ice over everything. Today we got a new fresh inch of snow. It was lovely to watch it come down in beautiful, fat flakes. Now our new inch is melting away. I’m still hopeful we’ll see more snowflakes in the near future. It’s been so snowy and icy lately. It’s definitely winter time. I’m the kind of PNWester that doesn’t mind the rain, but I especially love snowy winters. I could sit and watch it snow for hours. It makes my heart happy!

We’ve been fairly home bound the last week. I’m just now recovering from my major sinus bug and I’m starting to feel human again. Probably should have gone to the doctor and gotten meds for that one… Oh well. Hindsight. Friday was eventful when Graham had an accident and cut his mouth. I wasn’t in the kitchen when it happened so the first thing I saw when Jeremy called for me was all the blood on the floor and then all blood on Jeremy, Graham, the counter, the sink… Oh my! It was a scary sight! We took Graham to the doctor to check out the cut and we got a chance to catch up with one of our favorite doctors. Luckily the cut was in a safe place and should heal up fine. In fact, Graham is his happy normal self and you would never know the trauma we all suffered on Friday. I’m glad that God made kids resilient.

We’ve officially entered a very crafty stage of preschool life with Owen. When Graham goes down for his morning nap, we pull out the craft bin and get creative. Over the weekend Owen got his first pair of kid scissors and he can now cut a lovely fringe on any piece of paper you put in front of him. We received a shape truck craft kit from a friend so he also got to use a glue stick for the first time yesterday. And if scissors and glue sticks weren’t enough, we finally opened a water color book he got for Christmas last year. In one week he can add cutting, gluing and painting to his list of crafting skills. We also do Bible time during Graham’s nap time and I try to have intentional conversation with him while we craft. Yesterday we talked about how God loves us and how Jesus is God. Soon I’ll have to blow his mind and try to explain the Holy Spirit! Today we talked about how God takes care of us like a good shepherd takes care of sheep. We prayed together for someone in need. Bible time certainly isn’t long or college level theology, but I enjoy these conversations and these moments together. They are small foundational building blocks.

The other fun thing we’ve been doing is re-decorating Owen’s room now that Christmas is over. We changed the Christmas tree to a “winter” tree. It now has a heart on top for Valentine’s day. The lights have changed to a cool white color. We kept his blue and silver ornaments up because they fit the winter theme and we added paper snowflakes that Owen helped me make. Above his bookshelf we have a collage of Thomas & Friends valentines and hearts that we colored and cut out. Owen helped me arrange the valentines and hearts. He is very proud of his work. I love seeing his excitement for each holiday, especially as I explain them and he understands their purpose. So now the room is decorated through February. Maybe we’ll switch to a spring or Easter theme in March.

I feel like Owen gets most of the blog time because he is doing “new” uncharted things for me while Graham keeps up the very basic eat, play, sleep routine. Not always exciting to blog about, but seriously, these are my favorite days! I love the time frame from 12-18 months. He is a baby and a big kid all at the same time. He loves Daniel Tiger and Mickey Mouse. He dances to theme songs. He loves to play Play Doh with his big brother. He also likes to play trains with his brother. Once he looses interest in the train table, he goes over to the bookshelf and pulls all the books off. He certainly keeps me on my toes. The combination of Graham and Owen certainly has me busy too. Owen often takes whatever toy Graham has and that creates WW3 level drama. Also if you tell Graham “no” you can expect an end of the world reaction. Life is a mixture of happiness and tears when you are 1 & 3.

Jeremy and I are doing our best to keep up with the kiddos. Jeremy has been extra faithful to check on our Winlock house during the cold weather. Our for sale sign should go up again tomorrow and we are praying for more showings. Jeremy keeps tabs on the property too and often visits it to check his trail camera. He is hopeful to spot the abundant wildlife. Mostly we know what is around because of the tracks on the ground. He has yet to get good footage of an animal. This last time he got a video of the bulldozer working on my parent’s driveway! Jeremy continues to be the most supportive husband and father that I could ever want or need. He does bath time with the boys regularly, he gets up with them first thing in the morning so I can stay in bed for a little while longer, he watched “When Calls the Heart” with me (a Hallmark Channel TV show). The last few nights we’ve watched Sci-Fi movies after the boys went to bed and I forgot how gross and destructive they can be. It was a shock after watching such mushy TV. I was glad that Jeremy was able to catch up on his “to-see” movie list and watch something a little more manly than a prairie romance series.

Well, that about sums up life for now. My 31st birthday is this coming weekend, so I’m sure I’ll have lots to share in my next update. I’m sure it will include at least one picture of me with a chocolate cake. I’ll have to do some pondering and reflecting on 31. I truthfully haven’t given it too much thought. I’ve been a bit distracted by our lovely, crazy life!

The Winter Tree! It now has a white towel tree skirt because the Thomas sheet was needed back in bed with Owen. However, I think the white towel looks like snow so it fits the theme nicely.

Licking the beater is the best part of childhood

Play Doh time

Thanks to Owen for the Play Doh nose

Mountain climbers at the property

The valentine wall and winter tree

Home from church because of freezing rain, so we got super crafty!

We love watching it snow!

Enjoying a homemade lemon bar made with lemons from Jeremy’s very own lemon tree! Yum!

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Hello 2017 January 3, 2017

Filed under: Family Time,Getting Creative,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 9:26 pm

2016 closed with lots of days full of family gatherings! On the 29th, we had Christmas with the Scott clan. It was a fun day full of Christmas chaos and merriment. This was the first time all the cousins had been together since the arrival of Baby Colton, so it was nice to be all under the same roof. Owen greatly enjoyed playing with his cousins and Graham enjoyed being carried around by cousin Brinley. She was such a little mommy, making sure that Graham was taken care of.

The 30th was my brother-in-law’s birthday. Andrew requested breakfast at Camp 18 which is just a short bit away from the coast. We enjoyed yummy breakfasts, bird watching and exploring the logging site. Then we took off for Cannon Beach. The weather was sunny and it was the perfect day to make a quick stop at the ocean. Graham wanted to run straight into the water. This made Owen very concerned for Graham’s safety. At one point, Owen was so stressed about Graham that he couldn’t watch anymore and asked to leave the beach. He just couldn’t handle it! Graham didn’t go out to sea thanks to many watchful eyes and we were able to stop a get a few local favorite foods before heading home.

The 31st was my sister’s birthday. We drove down to their new home and met up with the family for lunch and dessert. Birthday lunch was at Red Lobster and Owen had so much fun looking at the lobster tank. Then we went to a local mall to see a model train display they have set up there. Owen also enjoyed that. You would think the day was about Owen, not Auntie! We had dessert back at the house and April introduced Owen into Mario Party. It was a laid back, casual afternoon. April loves to pass on the video game legacy to my kids. Owen got a Mario toothbrush in his stocking this year and he discovered a Mario game on Jeremy’s phone. He was elated to play Mario with his Auntie for her birthday.

Jeremy and I rang in the New Year playing a new card game with his parents. Since New Years Eve was a Saturday this year, we didn’t want to stay up too late with church the following morning. We watched a little TV and lived a little on the wild side and stayed up till 11:30. You know you’re old when staying up till midnight just doesn’t have the same appeal anymore. Maybe if it hadn’t been on a Sunday. Maybe next year….

I was thinking back on 2016 and it made me remember how hard I thought 2015 was. I remember thinking that 2015 was a year I really didn’t want to live again. I had an uncomfortable pregnancy and then Graham had acid reflex issues that involved a lot of crying, spitting up and me having to change my diet. It was rough. I’m not sure which year was harder, 2015 or 2016… but 2016 has been one for the record books. 2016 has been characterized by change around every corner. For someone that likes stability and routine, 2016 rocked my world and shook me up. I am grateful for the lessons in faith and trust that came from 2016. Change brings growth and I think that is the true benefit of 2016. I am not the same person I was at the start of the year. I can see that through every high and low, God was there, walking beside me. God is good. No matter what.

Now on to 2017… I’m starting it sick. I never fully got over my last cold and I went into round 2 the last few days with more fevers and sinus pressure. Not an ideal start to the year, but I’m hoping and praying this bug will be behind me soon. My biggest hope and prayer for 2017 is that our house will sell and we will be able to start building our new home. We did have a showing last Friday. We haven’t heard any feedback from that showing, but I was pleasantly surprised that we had one given the holiday season. It would be so delightful to be under contract and moving forward again with our house. I’m truly hoping 2017 will bring positive resolution to our living situation. I want to give a big shout out to my in-laws who have taken us in and let us make ourselves at home in their home. Their kindness and hospitality has been so appreciated. I don’t know about Graham (because he is so young), but I do think that Owen will have the best memories as he reflects on the time that he got to live with Nana and Papa. They are a blessing to our family. My prayer is that we can move forward with our house situation before we over stay our welcome.

I don’t have any resolutions for 2017. Graham is nursing less these days so that means my calorie intake needs to adjust. In traditional New Years fashion, I could say I plan to eat better in 2017 (and by better I mean “less”… don’t expect to find me munching on a kale salad for lunch). I have a list of books that I am hoping to read and of course, I plan to keep writing about my daily adventures. I love how the New Year feels like a blank slate. It’s a story waiting to be told. I have absolutely no clue what is in store for our family, but the last few years have a created a firm foundation for us. If we have survived the past then we can handle the future. God is our rock and our anchor. I choose to be hopeful and optimistic. I’m dreaming big for 2017!

Stocking time!

Playing with cousins is the best!

Monkeys jumping on the bed

Best Buds!

The whole Scott clan!

Celebrating Andrew’s birthday

Enjoying a sunny December day at the beach

Model trains!

Putting the candles on Auntie’s cake

Happy birthday, April & Andrew!

Mario Party with Auntie

Learning Monopoly Deal

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Fevers, Coughs, Croup & Christmas December 27, 2016

Filed under: Family Time,Selling, Building, Moving,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 9:13 pm

I’m so done with colds and croup. Graham started to perk up by Friday, but Owen and I were a few days behind everyone so the bug held on longer with us. As of Christmas Eve, Owen and I were still sporting low grade fevers. On Christmas day both boys were fever free, but Owen had slightly less energy than normal. I’m the last real hold out with the bug. I looked and sounded awful on Christmas day. It didn’t stop me from celebrating. Yesterday was the first day I didn’t feel too bad. My stamina isn’t 100% and I’m draining some lovely colored snot. Overall, though, I’m on my way toward being healthy again… Or so I hope. Having this yucky bug over the Christmas holiday was a bit of a bummer. Our family still managed to have a fun holiday despite the germs. I’m grateful that we are on the mend so we can fully enjoy our final Christmas celebration with Jeremy’s immediate family on Thursday!

Our holiday weekend looked a little something like this… Friday I delivered meals to two MOPS moms with new babies. I tried my best to sanitize and be quick with my deliveries. I didn’t want to spread the plague in households with such little newborns present. Saturday, Jeremy went to the Christmas Eve gatherings at our church. We did our family Christmas that morning. The boys opened their gifts and we had a yummy breakfast of baked french toast! Christmas Eve was a slower day for the boys and I to rest and play. That evening we went over to Jeremy’s cousin’s house for a family gathering. I walked away with Play Doh from the $5 gift exchange. Not to shabby since Play Doh time is a daily thing in our household. Christmas day was spent in Puyallup with my family eating good and opening gifts. Yesterday we kept up our Christmas tradition of going shopping the day after Christmas. We had a few returns to make and some Christmas cash to spend. Jeremy got some movies, I got the latest season of Once Upon a Time. The boys got more pieces for their Thomas train set, some games, books, water bottles and clothes. Owen has been loving the games and wants to play all the time. Graham is truly turning into a train table lover. He is often found in Owen’s room pushing trains around the track.

I guess the one last final update is our house is officially back on the market. Our previous buyer is still interested in the home, so we’ll see if she secures new funding and submits another offer. We spent a little time on Friday tidying things up around the front yard and turning the heaters up so it isn’t the arctic for potential showings. There haven’t been any showings yet, but the holiday season will probably means things start off slowly. My goal in the next week or so is to go over there to wipe things down and vacuum. The house has been empty for 2 months and I don’t want it to feel dusty and musty. I joked with Jeremy that if we have enough time before a showing, I might even go over and make a batch of cookies in the oven just to warm up the house and make it smell homey. It’s sad to see our little house empty and on the market waiting for a new family, but I am trusting that God’s got this. This whole situation is growing faith in our family. Even though the timeline has been challenging for me, I know that God is with me. He knows my thoughts and emotions. He knows and he cares. I am loved and I don’t have to stress, I just have to trust.

I hope that this blog finds you all happy after a wonderful holiday spent with family and friends. This Christmas season has held so many ups and downs for me, but the true reason we celebrate and have joy is Jesus! I am so thankful for my Savior. His unconditional love never ceases to amaze me. I hope that this Christmas that same love warms your heart as well. Merry Christmas!

Even with a fever, Owen found some holiday cheer with Facebook Messenger!

Being restful on a sick day

Christmas Eve morning!

Pioneer Woman’s Baked French Toast! A yummy way to start Christmas Eve!

Apparently Owen only eats the sprinkles off of snowman cookies…

Owen wouldn’t stop rubbing his eye for a picture on Christmas morning!

Ignore my sick eyes! Focus on the happy Christmas baby!

One last ride through the park Christmas light display! The boys even got to drive up front with Daddy!

Off to find good deal on the day after Christmas!

Red Robin with my boys! Yum!

The train table got a few new pieces yesterday! It keeps getting cooler!

Introducing Owen to Hungry Hungry Hippos!

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Gimme a Break December 21, 2016

Filed under: Family Time,Selling, Building, Moving,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 10:40 pm

Hitting the chocolate a bit hard today.

Not so long ago I posted that the song in my head was “All I Want for Christmas is My House to Sell” and now that song has changed to the Kit Kat tagline. Gimme a Break! This last week has been a rough one. Graham came down with a bug a week ago. This was a major bummer because he had been sick a good part of November/December. He was well for about a week before diving back into illness. Owen started to get sick Sunday afternoon and well… then Nana and I followed suit. There was been a lot of fevers, snot and coughs around this house. Today we decided to take the boys into the doctor to get checked out and it turns out they have croup. Oh goodie. The doctor gave them each an oral steroid and told us we should see improvement soon. If not, we’ll be back to the doctor’s on Christmas Eve. Here’s hoping that doesn’t happen.

Now back to the house update. If you remember, we were suppose to close on December 21st or sooner… And that’s today. And we didn’t close. I won’t go into the details, but one underwriter has determined to not fund the loan for our buyer. His decision is based on personal opinion and no matter what documentation has been shown to him, he won’t change his mind. Our buyer has asked for 24 hours before we re-list the house. We are all skeptical at what she’ll be able to accomplish in that period of time. Our guess is our house will be back on the market soon. While I know God is in control and that he’s got this, that doesn’t mean I’m happy with this development. Through all the ups and downs and extensions and delays, I really thought we were going to close this week. I am disappointed and frustrated. I’m trying to walk the balance of feeling my emotions and acknowledging them while not being controlled by them. There are a lot of thoughts and feelings swirling around in me. My anchor and hope still remains in a God who sees the big picture when I only see a speck.

The one “bright” spot in this week (and I mean bright) is Jeremy and a team of volunteers have been working on giving our main kids classroom a face lift. Vibrant colors have been added to the walls and plans for new staging and decor are also in the works. Thanks to Nana being home with the boys, I was able to put in a couple of hours on Monday and Tuesday to help with the painting parties. I do enjoy the times where I can get out of Mommy mode and be productive in a different way than parenting. In this case, I got to paint many walls and see the transformation happen before my eyes. The only downside to my productive week has been being hit hard by the plague in our house today.

To consolidate this update – the house hasn’t sold yet and will most likely be back on the market soon, 4 out of 6 family members under our roof are hacking up a lung, but on the bright side, Jeremy is making great progress on a big project at work and it was fun to join him for part of the week. Last Saturday, was our first Christmas celebration with my immediate family. We have 3 more gatherings to look forward to in the coming week. Hopefully, we will be over this bug and in the Christmas spirit regardless of circumstances beyond our control. God is good and I am determined to have a Merry Christmas!

On Sunday, we enjoyed driving around the park looking at Christmas lights!

Making a blanket fort to jazz up a sick day

I got the honor of adding the first bit of color to the walls! So much fun!

Mom joined in the colorful fun!

Purple!

Having to wake up the sleeping baby so we can go to the doctor.

Enjoying their time at the doctor despite the croup. Little boys find ways to be silly anywhere, anytime!

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Quick Photo Update December 18, 2016

Filed under: Family Time,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 11:05 am

Things have been fun and festive here! I’ve really enjoyed seeing the Christmas season through Owen’s eyes this year. For the first time, he really has excitement over holiday activities. Below is a photo update of our last week and a half!

Catch a snowflake on your tongue

Jeremy and Owen made the Polar Express

Watching The Polar Express

Getting into mischief

Christmas cookies!

Almost done with all my Christmas shopping and wrapping! My mom let me sneak away to her guest room for uninterrupted wrapping!

First time meeting Santa was super serious!

The first of many Christmas celebrations took place yesterday!

Merry Christmas from the Vitzhum/Gallaway/Scott clan!

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You are Loved & God is Good! December 7, 2016

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Selling, Building, Moving,Simply Me,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 3:16 pm

Here are the notes from my MOPS talk yesterday. It should take about 15 minutes or less to read. I hope that it brings encouragement to you. I had such a wonderful response yesterday. I was blessed to share my heart with such wonderful ladies!

Hello. For those of you out there that I haven’t met personally, my name is Amy Scott. My husband is the children’s pastor here at Bethel Church. I’m on the MOPS steering team and have been for the last few years. I love MOPS and I love that you are all here today. This is a special place and what we do here is important. I hope that as you’ve spent time around the table with other moms, you’ve felt a sense of community and belonging. It’s so encouraging to know that you are not alone and that you have a group of ladies cheering you on.

What I want to share with you ladies today is a lot of preaching to the choir. It’s a message that really touches where I am right now. I don’t know this as a fact, but I’m assuming a lot of you might be in a similar place or maybe can relate to my story.

I’m a thinker. I can’t turn my brain off. Sometimes it’s a blessing and sometimes it a curse. I’ve been thinking a lot about life, especially the last year, 2016, and all the changes that have happened. It’s been a big year. I turned 30, bought a minivan… Jeremy and I put our house up for sale. It was our first house and full of so many memories because we started our family there. My home has been my sanctuary, my refuge. Selling it and letting go was has been an exciting, but emotion filled decision. I won’t go into all the details, but we’ve had one deal fall through and it’s been months of delays and extensions with our current buyer. We thought we would close at the end of September and now we are praying that we close at the end of the December. The kicker is, we thought for sure that we were going to close in October, so we moved in with my in-laws. Now it looks that was two months too soon. My in-laws have been great to live with, but it isn’t ideal when we could have been in our home. In a lot of ways, I’m ready to move forward, but I feel stalled.

Some of you know that at the end of this summer, my husband had some serious health issues arise and we had to take a step back from ministry for a few months to make his health a top priority. He is doing better now, but there are still some questions that we haven’t found answers to. It’s been a lot to take in, a lot to process.

There are numerous other changes that would take too long to go into, but this whole last year; I’ve felt like my life has been sifted. It’s been a rewarding process in the sense that I’ve learned a lot about myself and what I can handle. Mostly I’ve learned how much I truly need to rely on God to get through the day. Sifting happens when things get shaken up. And I’ve felt shaken this year. In a lot of ways my sense of security has been lost. When your security is in things or even in people, life can be scary. There is a sense of doubt and worry. I’ve learned a lot about God being my rock, my anchor.

I’m a writer and a blogger. I used to attempt to write deep thoughts about life and ministry, but once I had kids my blog morphed more into our family life and what we’re up to on a weekly basis. My 5 followers love my updates. I’ve chronicled the highs and lows of this year through my blog. It’s interesting to me that after all the updates, once I’ve gone through all hang ups, holds up, struggles and fears, I would always wrap things up by talking about the goodness of God. Strange to think that I would write through all the struggles of life and then close by saying God is good.

And that brings me to what I want to share with you today. The heart of my message is you are loved and God is good. In the midst of it all, I would hold on to these two truths. I am loved and God is good. I knew this was true. I didn’t doubt it. And with these two truths being whispered in my ear and repeated over and over in my heart, I was able to walk forward on firm ground even when life felt unstable and insecure. I didn’t have a lot of answers. I still don’t.

I could choose to stress and worry about my husband’s health or about why we keep experiencing hold ups with our house, but instead I remember that I am loved and God is good and the details that I cannot control lose their hold on me. I can have peace.

Philippians 4:6-7 says:

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

God’s got this has been my motto. I don’t need to worry, I don’t need to figure it all it out. I just need to trust that God’s got this.

I want to share a passage of scripture with you from 1 John 4. I’m going to read verses 9-19:

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect.

So we will not be afraid on the Day of Judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.

There are a few key thoughts that I want to focus on. The first is that God loved us so much that he gave his one and only son so that we might have eternal life. God’s love is all about relationship. He loved us so much, so deeply that he gave the greatest sacrifice so we could have a relationship with him. It’s because of this truth that I have never doubted the goodness of God. God is love and his love restored my relationship with him. And I know that he desires that same relationship with each of you. His love is constant, searching, reconciling. He never gives up and never let’s go. I am secure in this knowledge.

Which leads me to verse 16 where it says, “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.” We can trust this good news. We can trust God! No matter what happens in life, we can trust that he loves us. As I say it, it sounds simple, but it is deeply profound. We can trust his love. We can trust in a world that doesn’t make sense, that God’s got this, because he loves us. He is love. We don’t have to have it all figured out. We can trust his love.

In a period of time where fear has been waiting at my doorstep, hoping I will let it in and take root in my heart, I have relied on verse 18 that says such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If I am truly trusting in perfect love then I don’t have to be afraid. This doesn’t mean that everything works out the way I hope because God loves me. I have gotten many answers I didn’t like and I’ve walked down roads that I didn’t plan to walk down. I’ve experienced hurt that I didn’t want or expect in my life. I think we all have. But I don’t have to be afraid of these things. God’s perfect love casts out all fear. Even when I am uncomfortable, even when I’m confused, frustrated, broken hearted, or worn out, I know that at the base of it all, my foundation and my rock is this perfect love. This perfect love that knows where I’m at and is with me in each moment. When our trust is in God’s love, we can say good-bye to the hold that fear has over us.

Now the overall context of this verse isn’t just about us and God. It’s not a bubble. It’s not God loves me and I love him. End of story. This love is lived out in the context of community and relationship. It’s about us shining that love to those around us.

Verses 11 and 12 say:

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

God’s love is brought to full expression in us. WOW! That’s big. I’ll be honest with you all. I’ve been debating about what I would share with you for a while. I’ve taken this talk a thousand different directions in my mind. But God really challenged me to share my story today, to be real and honest about where I’ve been and what I’ve walked through.

I’m a private person by nature. I want you to all think that I’ve got it together and that I’m composed. Over the last year though I’ve had more than one moment where my composure has fallen apart. In those moments, Christ followers have been there to encourage me. I’ve had the best support as I’ve been honest and open with trusted friends and family members. By sharing my story with them, even the ugly parts, they have been able to respond to my need and love me in a deep and personal way. I lose out when I keep my story to myself and you lose you out to.

This great love that we are a part of invites us to share that love. We aren’t meant to keep it to ourselves. We can live like Jesus here in the world and extend that same love to others. We need that love and we need to give that love. Community is important. Sharing your story is important. God has given you a unique story that only you can tell. Maybe you’re in the middle of the hurt and you need the love of community to hold you up as you sort through the mess. Maybe you’ve recently walked through something and your testimony of how God got you through it can give encouragement and strength to someone so they don’t give up. It’s a cycle of encouragement and every part of the process is important.

Now, I realize that this is a Christmas party. I haven’t spent much time talking about shepherds or wise man. The heart of the Christmas story is Jesus. God came to earth in human form and walked among us. He loved us to much that died for our sins, so he could have a relationship with us. The love and the sacrifice of his story is why we are here today. It’s why we celebrate Christmas and even more so why we celebrate a risen Savior at Easter. This story isn’t a holiday story. It’s an everyday story. The truth of God’s goodness and his love is evident all year around and it’s up to us to respond to it and to share it with the world. My hope and prayer is that you will walk out of this room holding deeply to the truth that you loved and God is good. With that knowledge tucked in your heart, I pray that you shine a little brighter today and love a little deeper. This is the heart of the Christmas message.

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December is Here!

Filed under: Family Time,Selling, Building, Moving,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 3:08 pm

November finished up with a MOPS outing to Lattin’s Cider Mill and our house still not closing. Over the weekend, we contemplated the very serious option of putting our house back on the market. But… it seems like the buyer’s lender has since been in contact with our agent and things look hopeful. We should know by the end of the week if official paperwork is headed our way. I will admit that all these dates start to mean nothing to me since they come and go without news or action. However, I am trying to remain hopeful as the deal with our current buyer hangs on by a thread. I really don’t want to relist our house, so I’m praying we can still pull this off. If things really do pan out, our new closing date will be on or before December 21st. The tune “All I Want for Christmas is My House to Sell” rattles around in my brain.

December has treated us well so far apart from the ups and downs with our home. Owen got a Play Doh Advent calendar from my mom and Jeremy & I got him an Advent calendar that has a chocolate a day. It’s been fun watching him get excited to open a new compartment each morning and receive a special treat. However, our Play Doh play time has tripled thanks to all new and exciting things to play with.

Friday, our family did a little Christmas shopping and Jeremy got supplies for the kid’s choir weekend. It was a big day, but nice to be out and about as a family. As we were making our way home on the freeway, our back right tire went flat. It was scary, but God was good and there was no damage done to the vehicle. Because our van is still pretty new to us, we had to call for a tow and the gentleman who gave us a tow showed Jeremy how to access our spare tire. My dad rescued the boys and I from the side of the freeway and took us home with a quick stop at the church to drop off some sound equipment for the drama rehearsal that night. Jeremy made it to the church for the practice once he was able to get a new tire on the van.

Saturday was a day around the house for the boys and I while Jeremy worked on kid’s choir commitments. Sunday was the big performance. Owen’s class has been practicing two songs to sing as the opening act of the kid’s musical. Last year Owen just stood on stage by Jeremy. He didn’t have a clue what to do. This year, Owen knew the words to the songs. He sang and danced and got the audience laughing more than once. Must be a PK (pastor’s kid) thing. They know how to ham it up.

Jeremy planned to take Monday off as a comp day for the weekend. We woke up Monday morning to snow, so Jeremy’s comp day also turned in the perfect snow day. Jeremy and Owen were outside in the snow before the sun was even up! Graham and I later joined them for a walk in the snow. Later I made cookies for MOPS while snowflakes fell outside the window and Owen introduced Jeremy to his new obsession, The Polar Express.

Tuesday was our MOPS Christmas party and I was the guest speaker. I was able to get some thoughts written down at the end of the last week and I practiced a bit this weekend. I wasn’t as practiced up as the last time I spoke, but it still turned out okay. My message was about how you are loved and God is good. I went through some of the struggles of my last year and how God’s love and goodness has been the firm foundation that has kept me going. Once I wrap up this post, I plan on posting my notes in another blog entry. It takes less than 15 minutes to read if you are interested in what I shared. I also have a video of me speaking on my Facebook page. One of the ladies at my table recorded my message for a friend who couldn’t make because her preemie is in the hospital.

And that brings us today… For my class tonight at church we’ll be doing our Gingerbread House Decorating Contest. This is always a favorite and a highlight of the Christmas season for me. We added to the 4th graders to my class because of the small group of 5th/6th graders. This will be our first week with the 4th graders. I’m praying it goes well. This a fun time of year for them to join since next week will also be our Christmas party. So much good stuff to enjoy!

As always, I will keep you posted on the house situation. We went to check on the house Sunday with the boys. They ran around through the empty great room yelling because of the echo. I’m very much hoping that I will soon to able to post more definite news instead of just “hopes”. Until then we’ll just keep enjoying the Christmas season and all the holiday cheer!

Enjoying Lattin’s Cider Mill with my boys and MOPS friends

December 1st!

Yum

Owen was awake when he pulled over to the side of the road with a flat tire. Apparently it didn’t hold his interest so he decided to take a nap.

Time for a song and dance

We enjoyed dinner at Grandpa & Grandma’s house. Then Owen decided to curl up and got to bed in TC’s crate.

Not a bad way to start a day!

Walking in a winter wonderland!

Hacking apart the snowman

Gingerbread cupcakes seem like the perfect snack for a Gingerbread House Decorating Contest!

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Thanksgiving! November 28, 2016

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 2:08 pm

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that you had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend. It was a good weekend in our household. We watched lots of Christmas movies and decorated the house. I started my Christmas shopping online with early Cyber Monday sales and I’m hoping to do a little more today. Shopping for my niece and nephews is way easier than shopping for my own kids. Not sure why that is…

Since my brain capacity isn’t stellar, I’m going to just hit some highlights quickly. Graham has had his worst cold yet this week. It’s been hard to watch him suffer through it. Poor kid. Owen got his train table back in his room and he is super happy about it. Jeremy told me that Owen danced for joy when he saw the table getting pulled out of the storage unit.

Jeremy is gearing up kid’s choir the next few weekends and I’m going to need to start working on MOPS stuff… I produce a newsletter that comes out the beginning of the month and for some reason I always seem to wait right before the deadline to work on it. It’s the “one” thing in life that regularly procrastinate. Go me. I’m also speaking at our December meeting and while I’ve put a lot of thought into what I’m going to say, I haven’t formalize anything. I know it’s a big deal and I don’t want to make light of the commitment I’ve made, but I also feel like God is intentionally asking me to less scripted. I’m a little nervous. However, I’m also trusting that it will be just what it needs to be. And let’s face it, I’ll go in some notes. It just won’t be all typed out and rehearsed.

And for the house news… there is none! Haha! I wish there was something to tell you, but we are still waiting. This has been quite the journey. I’m certainly wondering where this road will take us. Hopefully it will lead to actually closing…

That’s it for now. See you in December!

Owen’s first gingerbread house!

Giving Graham a ride

Happy turkey day!

The whole Vitzthum clan on Thanksgiving!

The train table is back!

Decorating for Christmas!

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It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas November 20, 2016

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time,Selling, Building, Moving,Simply Me,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 3:49 pm

I usually hold off on Christmas decorations until after Thanksgivings. I’ll start listening to Christmas music in November, but Thanksgiving weekend is the kick off of my Christmas decorating. This year is different, however. I’m thinking it might just be the stress of our house not closing (yes, we signed another extension. We should know Monday if the sale is actually going to go through or if we’ll have to relist our home). Christmas is comforting to me and I’ve needed comfort and Christmas a lot this week. It started with me buying Christmas jammies for the boys on Monday and then it lead to Owen getting a small Christmas tree in his room and holiday window clings. Today, Owen decorated the star to put on the top of his tree. Now it’s official!

This week I got the opportunity to help in the baby classroom at MOPS (opportunity = we didn’t have enough volunteers so steering team had to step in). It was surprisingly nice to do something different at MOPS. I enjoyed chatting with the other childcare workers and I think Graham enjoyed hanging with me. It was a craft meeting and sewing machines were involved so it’s probably best that I missed that meeting anyway. I’m not crafty.

During Graham’s nap time in the morning, I’ve been intentional about my time with Owen. We’ve started doing Bible time together. We read a story and color a picture about it. We’ve also been working on tracing our letters and numbers. This week I saw great improvement in his tracing skills and his ability to hold a pen. I never thought how challenging holding a pen could be until I tried to teach a 3 year old how to do it. I am loving these one on one moments with my big boy. I love watching him learn and I am enjoying the teaching moments we share. I am praying that as I share stories of how great God is and how he takes care of his people, Owen’s heart will be soft and receptive. I accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was four, so I know that Owen is not far off from possibly having his own Jesus moment and I am glad that I get to help sow these seeds and I pray that something good will grow out of it.

Yesterday, we drove over the mountains for my littlest nephew’s baby dedication. It was fun to spend time with my nephews and niece (and their parents and Nana & Papa). Owen got to jump on a trampoline for the first time and he loved it. He now knows that he got one for his birthday and he is itching for us to set it up. However, it’s pouring down rain at this moment. November isn’t prime trampoline weather on this side of the mountains.

God is good despite all of our ups and downs with the house. I am thankful for his constant love and encouragement during what feels like the longest process of my life. God’s got this. I don’t have to worry. I might be disappointed, but I don’t have to worry. Graham is sick and I’m wondering if my week is going to be a little slower than expected because of a sick kiddo. This morning I was trying to give Graham Tylenol to help lower his fever and he was crying in disdain. Owen on the other hand was practically in tears because he wanted Tylenol despite the fact that he doesn’t have a fever. I’m good at making everyone upset with me. It’s a glamorous life, being a mom. While I love the hugs and snuggles my boys give me, they also give me a handful of tears and meltdowns too. Gotta keep things even, right? Good thing God made my kiddos cute. It keeps them alive. Add Christmas jammies to those little boys and they “look” like little angels!