Happy New Year!

We all schlepped out in the cold and the rain to go see Avatar tonight. It was a good movie, however, between the publicity and then all the input from friends who have already gone and seen it, it did not live up to my expectations. The visuals were awesome, the world was fantastic, but I guess the story line lacked a little bit for me.

It is 10 pm our time and we are all hunkered down in the living room watching Disney Channel, waiting for the new year. Chances are I will be asleep when it rolls in. I am ready to say goodbye to 2009 and welcome 2010. I am not saying 2009 was a bad year, but it was a hard year. I am reminded that suffering makes us stronger and is never a bad thing. It always reminds us of what is good in our life and how awesome God is!

So my friends, I hope 2010 brings you much joy and happiness. We Gibson's plan on continuing in the adventure God has crafted for us (we are in Texas for crying out loud, only God could craft that). We are reminded how blessed we are to have awesome friends and family, a roof over our head, and food in our tummies every night. We are blessed with our health and two very healthy, happy children. I cannot say we have much to complain about, and we have so much to look forward to.

Happy New Year!

Crafting Again

I am finally crafting again..on a regular basis, if you can define what a regular basis is. I made a set of these note cards as a gift. They are size A2 cards. The base cream paper is Coredinations cardstock. The cream paper sued for the snowflake is ClubScrap Paper from the Rhapsody kit. The red paper is BoBunny Snowy Serenade Concerto. I cut the snowflake on the Cricut using the Gyspy Wanderings digital cartridge. It was cut at a height of 3.25" and I cut the layer at the same height. I cut crayon box using Tags, Bags, Boxes and more, filling a 12x12 sheet of paper, the envelopes and cards fit inside perfectly.






This is the inside:



And the crayon box:


Thanks for looking!

Happy New Year!

December 28

Ahh..it is December 28th, back to work. Life almost back to normal. We had a great Christmas. The were blessed with some awesome gifts, Phoenix received a camera, and lots of scrap booking supplies. It was a "Transformer" and "Bionicle" year for Griffin.

We actually had a white Christmas this year, however the blizzard that occured on Christmas Eve, was somewhat treacherous for us. When we got in the truck to go to work and Chris took his foot off the brake in the driveway and the truck slid out of the driveway, he said "We are going to look back on this and think to ourselves, sliding out of our driveway was the first clue we should have stayed home"! He was right. Getting to church was not so much a problem. But getting home took forever and we spent most of that time spinning our wheels in the ice. No fun whatsoever.

It appears Chris may have a job. He interviewed on the 23rd, and received an informal verbal offer. The manager said he just needed to work up pay rate and paperwork, and needed about a week to do that. So hopefully we know something by this Wednesday! We need this to happen, the timing is right, but we also know that GOD may have his own timing and we are trusting him to take care of us.

Meanwhile I returned back to work, and am ready for the new year. The halls at FEMA are awfully quiet right now, and I am ready to work. At home, I am trying to get back into a regular routine. Eating, exercise, and otherwise. I am also getting back to scrapping and crafting on a more regular basis (losing the job and relocating took my heart right out any crafting).

Do any of you have any indulgences that you seem to feed at the Holiday. I have several, first it is crafting, I see a Christmas project I like and I have to buy all the supplies to make that. THis year those added up since they included some expensive pieces of machinery. The other indulgence is any sweets co-workers happen to bring into the office, I just cannot seem to keep my hands off of them. Luckily, the candy dishes are dwindling, adn the cookie plates are empty. Next week it should be back to normal.

Some Pictures of the family over the last couple of days.

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

It's getting close

December 23, Christmas is almost here. I have very little left to do..I think. I still have some Christmas cards to stamp on the inside and mail. I have some gifts to wrap, but I guess the biggest to do item is a gift for Chris, but I have a pretty good idea what I am getting, and a few back up plans. And of course, we have to bake cookies for Santa, which we usually do on Christmas Eve. The best thing is I have the rest of the week off so I can do what I need to get done, even catch up on my Christmas Journal, and enjoy the next few days without being rushed. I think this will be the least rushed Christmas I have had in a while, and I really kind of like it.

We did not get much decorating done this year since Chris did not arrive until the first week of December (almost the second week actually). But we did manage to get the tree up and decorated and the stockings up. That is just fine with me....

Traditions

So many families have treasured holiday traditions. I have to admit that Chris and I have not done so well at creating any regular traditions, but we do have a few.

One die hard tradition that has stuck since Phoenix was a toddler is baking and decorating cookies for Santa, the kids have a blast decorating them, and now I have the Nick Brown super secret family sugar cookie recipe that is awesome, so I actually enjoy making the cookies because they turn out so darn tasty.



Last Christmas we went to a Christmas Tree Farm and cut down our family tree, we had such an awesome time doing that so we decided to make that a new tradition. We have even scouted out Christmas tree farms in our new home town.



Of course, Christmas Card making seems to have become a recurring tradition too...I really wonder how long that is going to last.


Would love to hear some of your tradition, leave a comment and let me know what they are.

A Perfect Christmas

I asked Phoenix what her idea of a perfect Christmas was. Here is what she came up with:

"I want to sleep in the living room by the tree and puta video camera by me and tape Santa. This is my perfect Christmas"!

I asked her to draw a picture of her perfect picture and write down her thoughts resulting in this scrapbook page for my Christmas Journal this year.



Griffin's idea of a perfect Christmas is getting everything he asked for. He was not interested in writing it down or drawing a picture. Oh Well.


Hugs
shona

Christmas Cards

Every year when I am in the midst of making Christmas Cards, I always say I am never going to make Christmas Cards again, but every year, when it is time to think about cards, I cannot bear the thought of buying cards. I guess since I cannot buy a gift for everyone I want to, a card seems like a small gift that is a little piece of me (and many times the kids, since they always get to help).

This year I ended up making two different cards, both with a snow flake theme; blame it on a new Cricut Cartridge I received which has become my all time favorite cartridge ever. I am also using up some cards I have left over from last year. And, I also have made a few more intricate cards for some special people. Those were a lot of fun to make, and seemed way to pretty to give away. But they are written in and the envelopes addressed, just awaiting pictures of the kids to include in the card.

I do not know how long I will continue to make my Christmas Cards, in the midst of making them it always seems like an added obligation during a busy season, and it always costs more than going out and buying a box, but when they are done and ready to go, I am always glad I did make them.

Love and hugs
Shona

Let It Snow

IT SNOWED TODAY! The kids were so excited this morning, and secretly I was too. Oh, I have seen snow before, it snowed in Georgia, but never this early the time we were there. And the flakes were so big and fluffy as they fell down covering everything in a thin blanket. And the timing was perfect. Admittedly, it has been a little harder for me to get into the Christmas spirit this year with Chris still in Georgia, and the cold weather and surprise snow seemed to help put me a little more in the spirit. That coupled with the fact that we are one day closer to Chris arriving allowing us to be a family again, made me add little bounce in my step this morning (I did not forget to snap a quick picture of the field outside my office).



I am not sure why cold weather and snow makes it seem more like Christmas, after all I have spent most of my Christmases in sub-tropical climates. All I know is when it is cold outside and there is snow around, it just feels more like Christmas.

LET IT SNOW!



Love and Hugs
Shona

I Declare

I Love Christmas, but unfortunately all too often I get caught up in the Christmas Card Making, gift making, gift buying, decorating, etc, that I forget to enjoy the season with my family or to really reflect on the awesomeness of the Gift that was given to us 2000 years ago.

Since I am in a new town, in a new state, in a little different financial situation than years past, and have a whole lot less obligations and a lot more time I declare I am going to take the time to reflect on the season, old memories and traditions, and even try to create a few new traditions with my family...and to really just sit and enjoy my kids an my husband, and take the time to record a little bit of our life this year.

It certainly has not been the easiest year for our family and many of our friends. However, not only can I look back and see the hand of God in everything that has happened this year, I can feel him working right now as Chris leaves his job to come join the family. We are stepping out in faith knowing God will provide him with a job in His time, which is always the right time. And in the meantime, we have a wonderful season to Celebrate as a family, and I intend to make the most of it.

Let the Season Begin!

Gypsy Spot Give Away

OH OH OH... : Custom Crops donated a Gypsy!!..Yes a Gypsy to The Gypsy Spot... be sure a go to The Gypsy Spot and find out how to enter to win!! Its being given away Tuesday December 1st!!...Here is the link to the Gypsy Spot.
http://the-gypsyspot.blogspot.com

Changes

Well, for those of you we keep in touch with on a regular basis you know we have moved, and for those of you who we don't keep in touch with on a regular basis...well we have moved. Me and the kids are in Texas. I accepted a position with FEMA Region VI in the Risk Analysis Branch located in Denton Texas (Dallas/Fort Worth Area) I had set my sights on a FEMA career about two years ago but Engineer positions come open very rarely, and when I saw this one open up in February I applied for it. I was still gainfully employed way back then. I was interviewed in April, and I relaly thought I blew it. Actually, the first thought that crossed my mind was that it was a good thing I was still employed because I did nothing to help myself secure that job. I knew if I got a call for even a second interview that it would be a total "GOD THING". I was laid off in May, the day before school let out. I decided to take the summer off and spend it with the kids. By this time I had totally given up on the FEMA position. In late June I started throwing some resumes out to private firms and the Corps of Engineers, and even another FEMA job in Atlanta. Much to my surprise, I received a phone call the first week in July with a job offer for FEMA in Texas. It was a tentative offer pending a background investigation, but an offer none the less. Five and 1/2 long weeks later I cleared security just in time to give us a week to make a trip to find a rental house, pack up the house and get the kids here to start the first day of school here in Texas. God was with us the entire way. We were able to find a house on a weekend trip, even though the rental market was hot and every house we looked at had 10 applicants ahead of us. We were able to get the house packed up, spend an awesome evening with some very special and awesome friends the night before we left town, and get here the Sunday before school started (which was the following Tuesday). We had just enough money to get the move done, get set up and have just enough left over to get us by to my first paycheck (although it does not feel good to be down to no saving). There were a few other circumstances that clicked into place that made it obvious this was the direction God was moving us. Chris will join us in a month or two while he finished up some projects on the Georgia house. But we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

We have been here three weeks today. Much to my surprise Griffin, my very OCD structured child who hates change, has adjusted extremely well. He was none too happy with me about leaving Sardis Elementary back in Georgia. Phoenix has had a rougher time. She's had girls tell her that her hair looks like a boy (not sure where that one came from), she has had a few emotional outbreaks in class when trying to keep a certain student out of ore trouble. She has a learned a very valuable lesson, sometimes you have to let someone get in trouble even if it bothers or hurts you to let it happen. The consequences are always based on decisions that person makes, not you. Lo and behold, the day she decided to not try and help him, he ended up in the principles office. She said she finally got it, and she decided it was not worth it to try and help someone who would not listen to her only to get very frustrated and disruptive in class (she was yelling at him at the top of her longs in class) and end up very upset and in trouble. To the teacher's credit instead of penalizing her she pulled her out of the situation for her to calm down. But she does miss her classmates and teachers who know and lover her so well at Sardis.

From what we have seen of the area we are pleasantly surprised. We think we will like it a lot. Every area has its upsides and downsides. The downsides of the immediate area is not very many trees. After four years in Northeast Georgia and lots of trees, it is hard to get used to. We have not gone exploring to see if there is any hiking or outdoor opportunities we like so much close by. The other downside is it is so BIG. The biggest downside is that being a Gator Fan out of enemy territory is no where near as fun. But on the upside anything we want is within 10 miles, and the traffic is awesome. The transportation network is amazing. I drove to Dallas Fort Worth airport in rush hour to take Chris to the airport, and it only took me about 25 minutes.

The neighborhood we are renting in is a traditional neighborhood, houses close together, garages on the back of the houses, with alley access, small backyards, sidewalks on both sides of the street. A resort style pool and water park in the neighborhood, hiking and biking trail, a fitness center, fishing ponds, and lots of parks. However, the kids have made it clear, they prefer a large backyard over all the bells and whistles. So we will likely buy somewhere else.

Once my job gets into full swing it will be something I enjoy. the people in the office all seem very nice. I am part of a team of four engineers overseeing Risk MAP (Map stands for Mitigation, Assessment, and Planning) for Region VI. I will be overseeing projects with the end result of helping people and/or their property (although in many cases they do not realize it). There will be some travel involved for meetings with communities, but once Chris is here, that will not be a problem. I am one of those weirdos that does not mind (actually enjoys) public speaking. There will be some stress too, the high profile counties will always turn congressional and I will be dealing with a communities congressional representative and/or their staff. Of course, all this is secondary to disaster response and recovery. When disasters happen in our region (Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico) I will be deployed.

We miss all our friends in Georgia. In some ways leaving Georgia was so much harder than leaving Florida. But we are excited to see what adventure GOD has in store for us.

Love you all (even you DAWG fans)!

Blog - NWF Green Hour

Ok. As a family who would prefer to be outside rather than inside this (Blog - NWF Green Hour)is very disheartening. Go ahead click on it and read it.

So far we have not had to go to the dictionary to look up any nature words, I guess because we have always spent so much time out doors my kids just seem to know what everything is....that and the nature magazines they have received since they were about 2. But can you imaging city dwellers who do not have the access to the outdoors like us? I cannot even fathom!

A new project we are starting this month is picking a bud on a tree or bush and documenting its life cycle from now until fall (idea from green hour.org) through pictures and sketches. My guess is Phoenix will want to draw everything and Griffin will want to photography it, will be interesting how this plays out.