Amy Scott's Thoughts

They’re back! July 25, 2013

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 8:48 pm

Hello Precious!

Back in November the world was going mad. Hostess products were flying off the shelves in grocery stores and gas stations. What wasn’t being consumed by the buyers was being sold on websites like eBay. Yes, my husband was amongst the many who tried to sell Hostess products online as they disappeared from the stores. You can read about my farewell to the beloved snack food here on my blog post from November – Good-Bye Old, Dear Friend.

Now for many Hostess represents what has gone wrong in America. It’s the evil food that has no nutritional value and is making the next generation (and current generations) obese. Despite all the negative vibes surrounding the snack cakes, I will admit that I am lover of Hostess and a supporter! My mom would give me Twinkies as a kid because I was so entertained by their make-up. The cream filling would keep me occupied as I disassembled the snack and munched on it. As I grew up, Hostess products became road trip food or a special treat to get through a hard day. I’ve never had a steady stash in my home, but I would occasionally enjoy a fruit pie or a package of Donettes (preferably crunch). I’ve been known to keep a pack of Ding Dongs in the freezer as a summer treat. I also really enjoyed SnoBalls and Cupcakes.

So yes, November. It was a dark time for me. What didn’t sell on eBay, Jeremy and I ate. It was sad. With each product I consumed, I knew there would be no more. No replacement. It was the end of an American classic. Of course, I rejoiced when I heard that Hostess would again be stocking it’s goodies on store shelves. I didn’t run to the store the day they came out, but I was happy.

Today my hubby came home and told me to close my eyes. This seemed a little weird and kind of ridiculous since he rarely does this. I’m not a huge fan of the “close your eyes” request. I’m not sure why. Maybe I still think all boys will put a snake in your hand when they ask you to close your eyes. When I opened my eyes, I was delighted to find a box of Twinkies. I felt like a little kid again! I immediately opened the box and had one. Yes, they are as good I remember. There is just something about cream filling that I love!

I’m excited for the return of this beloved childhood snack cake. I’m secretly hoping the whole line of products return to the stores as well. Right now I am just thankful for the box of Twinkies sitting in my pantry! It seriously doesn’t take much to make me happy!

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Meaningful Artwork July 24, 2013

Filed under: Getting Creative,Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 4:13 pm

It was very apparent to me once we had all the furniture in place in the nursery that we were going to be in need of artwork to liven up the walls. Jeremy had tacked up the fabric art pieces that came with our nursery set on the largest wall and while they are adorable, they are just a little too small for that wall. I already had envisioned them in another spot, so that left me still pondering the large wall.

If any of you know me well, you know that I am a researcher. I took to the internet for inspiration. I looked a lot over Etsy and other websites trying to find artwork that will match our theme. The hard thing is that none of the forest animals I saw where a close enough match to the ones on our bedding. This lead me way from looking at animals and started me down the focus of words. A lot of people put cute sayings, phrases and quotes on their baby’s wall. Did I want to do that? I guess the answer is yes, but I skipped the cutesy stuff and went straight to the Bible. If I was going to frame words, I want to frame Scripture. I want that to be what I see when I walk into our little guy’s room. I want him to know these verses, but as a parent, I want these verses to be familiar to me as well. I decided on four different passages that meant a lot to me and I thought would reflect well in a babies room. My first attempt at creating the artwork was a fail. I had a family member print them on a laser printer, but the colors didn’t match quite right.

My second attempt look me down a little more professional route. I went back to Esty and downloaded a wood grain scrapbook paper set. I do believe the download had about 24 colors to choose from. Jeremy really like the wood grain theme because it fit the room, but it wasn’t too busy. I set to work recreating verses on this wood grain pattern. I then had the images printed at Shutterfly on 11 x 14 matte paper. I also ordered some 11 x 14 frames online and they should arrive soon.

The artwork from Shutterfly arrived today and I will admit that I was nervous to open the package. With my first more homemade attempt at artwork, the colors didn’t print right and I was hoping that I wouldn’t have the same problem this time. I’m happy to report that the prints turned out really well! They were rolled up in the package, so I have them laying out with books to flatten them. When the frames arrive and I get everything up on the wall, I will be sure to post a picture of the finished product!

Artwork can be very expensive. Making it myself and using coupons and gift cards made this project relatively cheap in comparison to what I could have spent. More than it being cost effective to do it myself, I love the fact that I created something that will go up in the baby’s room. I love that it’s Scripture because it’s presence can be comforting, encouraging and prophetic. It means something. At least it does to me and hopefully someday it will mean something to our son as well. Maybe the artwork won’t be cherished, but hopefully the words will!

Scripture verses with a wood grain background.

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Childbirth Class, Nursery Update and Third Trimester! July 20, 2013

Filed under: Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 9:25 am

The joys of Childbirth Class!

Today officially begins my third trimester! 12 weeks to go! We found out on February 1st that we’re expecting and that now seems like a really long time ago. However, 12 weeks also seems like a really long time to wait. However, I’m fairly positive that it will go quickly. Life is busy and there is a lot do in the next 12 weeks. I’m hoping that the pace and activity will keep my mind focused. People keep commenting on how I finally look like I’m having a baby and I guess that’s a good thing since it is right around the corner!

Toby and I make great supervisors!

This weekend, Jeremy and I attended a 6 hour childbirth class at our hospital. It was very informative. I don’t feel like I learned a whole lot because the information was basic, but it was good to process and it started some good conversations between Jeremy and I. One of the things I was looking forward to the most was the hospital tour so I could begin to visualize what our experience would look like. The tour wasn’t super impressive, but it did give me that sense of what to expect and I can picture the rooms now. I guess I have to realize it’s a hospital and not a high-end hotel. There is a difference! On Wednesday, there was a 2 hour follow-up class, but because that was the final night of VBA, Jeremy wasn’t able to attend with me. I took my mom instead. We got to practice changing diapers on creepy baby dolls and we heard a lot about postpartum and infant care. Overall, I’m glad we did the class. It’s not like I feel I’m so much smarter and capable now, but the class does give you good things to think about and talk about as a couple.

In one week, our nursery as gone from a blank slate to full of furniture! Last Friday, Jeremy painted the room while I was away with a friend for the day. This week he assembled all the furniture that has been arriving. We officially have the glider, changing table, crib and dresser ready to go. Jeremy even tacked some of the artwork that came in the bedding set to the wall. The walls are the next big thing for us to figure out. We need to settle on how we’ll decorate them. I’m also excited to add pieces like a decorative lamp or a mobile to make the room feel more homey. The furniture, however, has gone a long way to make me feel like this really is a nursery. I loved watching my hubby put things together. He really is a pro when it comes to stuff like that. Pregnant or not, you really don’t want me setting up a crib! I wouldn’t trust it!

Here are some pictures of the nursery now that we have painted and furniture. I’ll continue to post pictures as the smaller decorative details come into play as well!

Glider and Crib

Dresser and Changing Table

View from the door

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Highlights from Family VBA July 19, 2013

Filed under: Children's Ministry — Amy Scott @ 10:05 am

Family VBA Worship!

Family VBA might be one of the coolest things we do at Bethel Church when it comes to children’s ministries. This was our second year of moving our VBA to the evening and having parents attend alongside there kids. We’ve been making an intentional shift at Bethel to empower parents to be the spiritual leaders in their homes. Family VBA reinforces that idea and gives parents practical experience to boost their confidence in having spiritual conversations (and fun) with their kids.

There are a lot of highlights from this last week and a lot reasons why I love this event. The first one for me would be watching families worship together. VBA is known for it’s music and the motions that go with the songs. As a leader in children’s ministries, I’m accustomed to having motions and moves that go with certain songs, however, most adults aren’t. It’s fun to watch the parents step outside of their comfort zone and look a little silly right alongside their kids. It’s also important during those slow worship songs that kids see their parents praising God. There is a lot learned by watching the adults around them go deeper with God.

In our rotations parents are the ones that lead the kids. This year at our snack rotation, we gave them all the supplies at the tables and passed out the instructions on how to assemble the snack and how it relates to the lesson. We also had them pray together as a family at this time as well. In our Bible lesson, Pastor Jeremy (my wonderful hubby) would present the lesson with youth helpers acting out parts. Once the Bible lesson was shared, the parents were given another handout to discuss and pray with their family. Our final rotation was the Imagination Station which is a bit like science and craft combined. Parents do this activity with their kids and it’s a lot of fun to watch the whole family get involved. Especially activities that involve water!

One addition to the program this year was dinner before VBA started. At 5:00pm, we offered a meal so families who were coming straight from work or a busy day wouldn’t have to worry about rushing for dinner. While a quarter of our families took advantage of this opportunity, the ones who did really enjoyed and appreciated it. I’m positive it will be a change that we keep in the future.

After last year, we learned that the littlest VBA attenders have early bedtimes, so we shortened the program by a half hour this year. This meant that families were dismissed before 8:00pm every night. This was an intentional move to be more family friendly. Another addition was a daily giveaway. Each night we gave away three parenting books as a resource to encourage parents and families. Every night we heard from multiple families about how excited they were that they won a book and how they really needed something to encourage them. The excitement for the books was cool to see.

We are realizing that our flow of VBA is still a little different. It takes some explaining, but once people see the heart behind our changes they usually agree that it’s a pretty cool change. As a children’s leaders, it’s fun exciting for me to have a week where I set parents up to succeed. It’s a great event and I’m so really encouraged by the changes in I see our families throughout the week. Sometimes it pays off to do something just a little different!

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Things We Do For Love July 17, 2013

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Cooking Experiments — Amy Scott @ 11:05 am

This Sunday kicked off the beginning of our Family VBA at Bethel Church. We’ve intentionally moved our VBA (Vacation Bible Adventure) to the evening so that parents can attend with their kids. Instead of our station leaders doing everything, they simply introduce the lesson and activities and then turn things over to the parents. We provide all the materials for parents to lead their children in fun activities and spiritual discussions. Our hope is that they would see how powerful this family time is and incorporate it into their daily lives at home. We are trying to create a shift that says parents are the spiritual leaders of their families and that church isn’t the only place your children can receive spiritual growth. I’ll go into a lot of more details about how our week of Family VBA went, but this post is a little bit of bragging and a little bit of whining from me!

When we were looking over the curriculum for our last night, there a special snack called “Bright Bites”. They are pretty much ice cream cone cupcakes with yellow topping to look like flashlights. The theme of the last day is how God’s word helps us stand strong and the Bible verse talks about how God’s word is a light to our path. Thus the flashlight themed snack. Since our last day of VBA has a different flow, we usually dismiss the families and offer them to stay for ice cream bars. Ice cream bars are simple and easy and have no assembly required. However, my hubby really liked taking the theme a step farther with the snack, so I found myself volunteering to make these ice cream cone cupcakes.

What a task! It took me over 7 hours to complete the process and it was a lot of work! I learned the hard way not to overfill the cones. The first batch was riddled with mishaps. But I learned from my mistakes and the rest of the baking was pretty successful. We used yellow cake and lemon frosting. To finish off the look, I sprinkled yellow sugar crystals on top. In the end, I had 192 Bright Bites ready for families tonight. I’ll be honest and say that it took a lot of effort. I kept thinking about ice cream bars and how simple they would have been… But, I love my hubby and he really wanted this element for our grand finale. I now know that I will probably never agree to do that again, but we do a lot of crazy things for those we love! Me included!

The Failures!

Waiting to be frosted!

Bright Bites up close!

All done!

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400! July 15, 2013

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 12:36 pm

Welcome to my 400th post on Amy Scott’s Thoughts! It’s been a fun journey to get to 400. Blogging has been such a wonderful addition to my life. I truly love it. Even if I’m not writing a nationally famous blog, I feel like I’m doing something. I’m keeping my writing skills up and I’m stretching myself to share my stories and my thoughts. I’m striving to be honest, funny and encouraging. I’m also hoping for a place where I be real and be me. I’ve enjoyed this experience so much because I’m using my voice in a way I love. I’m a writer by nature. It’s how I process my world. Writing is my preferred form of communication. I love sitting down and actually thinking about what I am going to say. So often we talk without thinking, but writing gives me pause. It gives me time to really mull over the thought. It gives me time to change my wording if I need to. I like how writing involves editing because nothing comes out perfectly the first time. Writing gives me that time and space to really solidify what I am going to say.

If you’ve followed my blog for any time, you know that I’m all over the place. There isn’t just one topic up for discussion here. My life is crazy and it’s just as scattered as the many topics on this blog. I love to talk about my relationship with Jesus and what he is walking me through at any given moment. I love writing my work with the kiddos at our church. I enjoy baking and doing domestic things. I’m always ready to share a domestic win or failure! I’ve certainly had both! My family is super important to me and they come up often, so is my mentoring. I love to share about my travels and what books I’m reading. In the last few months, I’ve even added the “baby” topic as Jeremy and I prepare for our first child to be born in October. There is just too much going on to write only about one thing. Forgive me for the bouncing, but the tagline on my page is”sharing the thoughts that bounce around in my brain.” With a tagline like I can go anywhere!

I thought I would break 400 down a bit and give a snapshot into the blogging world of Amy Scott. 400 posts in about 28 months means I blog about 3-4 times a week. However, it does come and go in spurts! You’ll notice I can a week solid of writing and then a busy season will hit and I will be quiet for a couple of days. Sometimes it all depends on inspiration and how many ideas I have in my blog hopper. When I get an idea, I add it to a list and then I slowly work through my topics without forgetting any of them.

The highest amount of views I’ve had in one day was 120. I wrote a blog about how Jeremy and I are expecting a baby and shared it on Facebook. Apparently, people were interested! I’ve had 8,330 views total which averages to about 300 views a month and about 10 views a day. Like I said, I’m not nationally famous, but I’m getting traffic and I’m happy with that. I also have about 20 followers who receive emails or notifications when I post. Shout out to my followers! Thank you for keeping up with me! I appreciate you!

Oh, 400! There is something about reaching a mark and knowing that you’ve had staying power. This isn’t a phase. This isn’t a project I will abandon. Blogging is a part of me and I’m so glad that I get to share it with you! Stay tuned. More fun is in store. That idea hopper of mine is full and I can’t wait to write each post. Also, feel free to comment and add your thoughts to this page. I welcome the conversation. This doesn’t have to be a dramatic monologue (even though I can be good at those)! I’m glad to have you along for the ride!

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Jam Making 101 July 14, 2013

Filed under: Cooking Experiments — Amy Scott @ 7:30 am

I <3 Raspberries

Summer is such a diverse time for me – especially this summer! It seems like I keep hopping from one thing to the next. It’s contained a lot of celebrating – the 4th of July, my Dad’s birthday, Jeremy & I’s wedding anniversary. Then I’m in full on VBA (Vacation Bible Adventure) prep mode and my head is totally at work. We have furniture for the baby’s room stocking up and Jeremy bought paint for the nursery. One evening we headed over to his parent’s house to help them pick berries and I’m learned how to make jam for the first time. The next day I’m visiting a friend up north to have lunch and the day after that I’m in a 6-hour childbirth class… Work, family, friends, cooking, baby… Hop, hop, hop!

While I have many topics to write about in the near future (baby updates, VBA updates, my 400th blog post!), today is going to briefly highlight making jam for the first time! Jeremy’s parents have been visiting family and asked us to pick some of their raspberries while they were gone. They had a ton of berries so they told us to take a few for ourselves as well. I was amazed at how many berries they had and even after picking a generous amount for them, we were able to have enough to make some jam for ourselves. Picking the berries reminded me of my own childhood. My neighbor had a bunch of raspberry bushes that us kids would attack every summer. So good! I love picking them right off the bush and popping them into my mouth!

My hubby is so much more domestic than me! Really, he is a whiz in the kitchen. He’s been making jam and salsa the last couple of years and I just let that be his “thing”. I never really dropped in or offered to help. This year he let me be a part of the whole process! When we got home, I cleaned the raspberries and mashed them up! I added the lemon juice and the pectin and the sugar. I watched things boil and even got a chance to pour the jam into the jars! Jeremy helped me by sterilizing the jars and helping me move the funnel from jar to jar. He also lowered the full jars into the boiling water so they can could set or whatever the official canning term is! I don’t really know!

It was a lot of fun working alongside my hubby and he was very patient with me as I asked questions. I view jam making as so 1950’s even though a lot of people do it today. It love the feeling that I’m doing something that people have done for a long time. It’s like passing on a legacy or something. It just feels special. It was also fun to see the whole process from berry picking to the jar! There is something satisfying about knowing we made this jam! It might seem silly, but it was a highlight of my week!

I used to view jam making as something complicated and kind of a scary, but I’m here to encourage you to try it! It’s not as hard as it seems and I’m glad I learned! Thanks, Jeremy! You’re a good teacher!

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Prototype by Jonathan Martin July 13, 2013

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf — Amy Scott @ 6:20 pm

I love Jonathan Martin’s preaching. I listen to his podcasts from Renovatus, his church in North Carolina. I just love the way he phrases things and his tangents and his southern style (it’s just southern enough to be cool without annoying me – it’s a fine line). When I heard that he was writing a book, I was very excited. My only fear was that I might not enjoy reading his words as much as I do listening to them, but this book did not disappoint. I could hear him as I read and it was the same style that I enjoy so much about preaching.

One of the highlights for me was how he talked about Jesus showing us a new way to be human. I’m a huge Switchfoot fan and they had a big hit called “New Way to Human” so the topic kept making me think of this song. It was a lovely connection that tickled me. The purpose of this book is get back to the basics in a lot of ways. It’s about embracing the fact that you are God’s beloved. When you truly know how loved you are it changes things, it changes you! He talks about how Jesus brought us these new ways to embrace ourselves, our relationship with God and our relationship with others.

One of the main points Jonathan hits is our identity. He used the story of the demon possessed man who when Jesus asked the demon for his name, the reply was “Legion” for there were many inside this man. For the first time I heard this story used to describe us and the overwhelming stimulation and voices we have in our life. It was very powerful to think that we suffer from too many voices, too many screens, too many versions of ourselves in our present time. We can relate to the man with the legion inside. Jonathan writes:

“Instead of being repelled by all the clamor, I rather enjoy being the center of my own universe. So I hear it as, ‘A thousand voices are competing for my attention. I must be really important.'”

This is something I struggled with for a long time. The greater the demand on me, the more I thought I was something special. In ministry, it’s easy to develop a hero complex that puts me at the center of everything, instead of Jesus. After years of frustration and burn out, I’m learning that my life is so much more peaceful when I know my place. When I allow God to define me and not my many roles or the people in my life, I am able to see who I really am. It’s easier to stay focused on what I am supposed to do and what I’m not called to do. In the story of the demon possessed man, his fellow townspeople got scared when they saw him in right mind. Martin brought out the point that in a world full many voices, it freaks people out to be around others who have a peace and understanding of who they are. We are so used to crazy that is the sane people that worry us. That peace that surpasses all understanding can be pretty freaky when you’re used to chaos, clamor and noise.

There are so many other thoughts that I could share from this book. I highlighted a lot! I love it when I’m highlighting up a book and thinking – “There are other people that get this! I’m not the only one that feels this way!” It’s so reassuring to my soul. In a lot of ways I feel like I live a counter-intuitive life. Not because of the things I don’t do. I’m not taking about the goody-goody Christian behavior list, but more on a gut level of I know who I am, I know what I want to do and I know where I draw the line. I know what feeds my soul and I know what drains me. I am learning more and more to balance my roles and not to wrap my identity up in them. I am learning a new way to be human. One that embraces God’s vision for my life and goes after it knowing that I will not always have fans and be popular because of my decisions, but with Jesus leading the way, I am willing to follow. Prototype is an excellent book that will make you want to follow after Jesus with a great passion!

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Christmas in July July 11, 2013

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Cooking Experiments — Amy Scott @ 5:20 pm

Homemade Gingerbread Cake

Last night, I did something different with my Wednesday night class of girls. I decided it would be fun to do Christmas in July. Growing up, my mom would pull out the Christmas dishes in the month of July so we could get some extra mileage out of them. It was always a lot of fun and kind of a silly. My class really loved the idea of bringing Christmas to July and so I set off to plan a Christmasy evening.

The night started off with Christmas Games. We did a Christmas Word Search, A Guess that Carol Game, Christmas Carol Word Scramble and Fill in the 12 Days of Christmas. I gave out prizes as the night went on for whoever got the most answers correctly. We finished the Christmas games with the Left/Right Game. I handed out the last of the prizes and as I read a story, the girls had to pass the presents to the left or the right when they heard the words left or right. It was a lot of fun and in the end everyone walked away with a prize, so it was like Christmas!

As much as I wanted to do a Christmas lesson, I had to continue on with our current unit so I didn’t get behind. There are only so many Wednesday nights left with my class and each lesson is carefully planned so we end our unit in time for the school year and the class transition. So, from Christmas, we popped over to our Self-Esteem lesson.

After the lesson time, we did a Christmas craft which involved decorating a Christmas ornament while listening to Christmas music. I made gingerbread cake for snack from scratch. This was my first time not using the packaged mix and it turned out surprisingly good! I’m never sure when it comes to making cake from scratch if the texture will be just right or the flavoring! I jazzed up the cake by adding whipped cream on top. For a touch of holiday color, I used green and red crystals.

The night was a big hit and the girls told me it really felt like Christmas. One girl mentioned that she was going to ask her parent’s for a present since it seemed so real. I’m not sure how well that was received, but I have to agree, I felt in the holiday spirit. The games and the flavors of the holidays made me wish that it was really right around the corner. I’ll just have to patiently wait now until the real holiday! It was fun to get a jump start on celebrating!

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7 Years and Counting! July 10, 2013

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 12:36 pm

Seven Years Ago

Monday was Jeremy and I’s seven year anniversary! In someways seven years seems like a long time, but really it seems like a blink of an eye. We’ve done a lot in seven years and seen a lot in seven years. I’m amazed at how much I’ve changed in seven years. I got married when I was twenty, so I feel like I’ve grown up a lot in the last seven years. At times I think I’ve mellowed and at other times, I feel just as crazy as I did seven years ago. Jeremy, however, has been a constant! He is my stable rock. I have been blessed with a hubby who is laid back and go with the flow – two things I am not. He’s influence has been greatly appreciated in my life and I have no clue what I would do without him. He makes me laugh and smile and has provided a wonderful life for me.

Since this was our last anniversary without kids, we broke the trend of our normal anniversary plans. The last two years we’ve gone shopping in the Portland area. In years prior, we’ve been so busy with our VBA that we usually do church shopping and then just go to dinner. But this year was different. I wanted to make the most of the last anniversary where our family unit would be just the two of us. We decided to spend the day in Seattle. We often to go Portland because of the no sales tax, but we rarely just hang out in Seattle. The weather was beautiful. It usually is every July 8th! We hung out the waterfront and wondered around Pike’s Place Market. We decided to be touristy and try the new Great Wheel they have at the waterfront. It’s a large ferris wheel with great views of the city and the water. After our ride on the wheel, I took Jeremy to Top Pot Doughnuts where we splurged on a half dozen yummy treats. Our evening plans included dinner at Safeco Field and watching the Mariners beat the Boston Red Sox. Jeremy and I usually make it the ballpark once a year for our annual 5th Grade Graduation with the kids at Bethel. It’s an entirely different experience when just the two of us go. It was fun to take the time to eat at the ballpark. I indulged in a clam chowder bread bowl from Ivar’s! Yum! Normally I have Shishkaberries (chocolate covered strawberries) as my snack of choice, but I was so full from my doughnut earlier that I passed on them this year. I’ll save them for the next game I’ll watch in a month with the 5th graders.

It was a great day to spend with Jeremy in Seattle. I couldn’t ask for a better day and it was fun to hang out in Seattle since we don’t go there very often. We ate a lot of good food and just enjoyed walking around and being in each others company. It was a great anniversary! I’m so blessed and very grateful to be married to such a wonderful guy! I love you, Jeremy!