This is My life

Saying Hi!

Just wanted to pop in and say hello!  I miss this little blog of mine. I am still working really hard on this balance thing in life -- managing four little kids who NEED a mama, running a new website which is tons of fun but has a steep learning curve, working on a marriage that when left unattended starts to struggle, spending time with my face-to-face friends and not just my online friends, taking photos to capture this crazy but oh-so-fun time we have as a family, and trying do enough to keep the creative energy flowing.

 There will never be enough hours in the day, and things like exercise and more consistent time in the Word HAVE to be added to this list.  I just need to take the advice of an old boss -- I need to pray EVERY day that I will have the wisdom to know what is MOST important for THAT day. It won't all get done.  But hopefully the things that are most important, will.

This past weekend that meant taking a few days off of "work" and going to Jakarta with the family for fun and food. Tuesday that meant hanging with my boys and watching Caleb come alive at his therapy session. Yesterday that meant helping a friend house hunt.  Today that means hanging out with some girlfriends. Tomorrow that means celebrating my little girl's sixth birthday.

Life is busy, but SO SO SO good.  And so full of blessing.  Check out my photo a day for some visual proof of my wonderful day-to-day life :)

Some scraps and some photos

Photo courtesy of Alaina (and the underlining is because Typepad has SERIOUS issues)


Is she getting dirty or clean??

Some laughs and an appeal

First, the appeal.

We don't ask people for much.  We don't ask people to send us large care packages and we don't raise support for our daily living expenses or even furlough travel. We generally like to take care of ourselves and we have learned to live without a lot of American "luxuries" while we are overseas.  But we all have our limits and I have reached mine.

For the past four months we have not been able to buy Parmesan cheese.  You know, good "old fashioned" American Parmesan cheese in a green Kraft container. We brought two HUGE ones from Sam's Club with us but they are gone and we are sad.  So please, please, take pity on us and send us some cheese!  You can take it out of the containers and put it in a ziplock bag if you want.  Then it should fit in a global priority envelope.  And believe me, this family can never have enough Parmesan cheese so don't worry about too many people sending it.  If we get more than we can use in a timely manner, we will pass it on to all of the other unfortunate souls around here whose spaghetti is cheeseless and whose Chicken Parmesan is Parmesan-less.

Here is our address:

Jason and Janet Phillips
Jalan Bujanggamanik Kav. 2
Kota Baru Parahyangan
Bandung 40553
Indonesia

Now, for the laughs

I was chatting the other day with a friend and commented that I basically haven't seen American TV in over eight years.  I may catch the occasion A BABY STORE on TLC when we are home in the summers and I do have a season pass on iTunes to Grey's Anatomy, but other that, I am clueless.  I don't know what the popular shows are, I don't know who the talk show hosts are, and ask my what season of sports is on and I will probably have no idea.

So, since I miss out on on all that stuff, I was glad to see that someone posted this video on Facebook....I may have no idea who this Ellen lady is but oh my goodness I laughed so hard that it will keep me going for days.  Hope you enjoy!

Getting into a groove...

Things have definitely changed over the past month or two.  With me closing my shop at SBG, opening THE DAILY DIGI, and partnering with new people and stores, not to mention changes in my "real" life....I have definitely been kept on my toes! But, as the DIGI FILES went live yesterday, the site got moved to a new server, the kids and the hubby are back in school, and routines are back in place.  I am getting into a groove and hope it is a happy one.

Just have a minute...heading to have coffee with a friend, but I wanted to post a few LO's I did.  YES! I scrapped again!  It was fun to see the designer contributions for THE DIGI FILES come in and I got inspired!

This LO is using stuff from Shabby MIss Jenn's contribution

And this one is using stuff from Flergs.

Alrighty, gotta run.  Be sure you grab you copy of the DIGI FILES for a chance to win some AMAZING prizes!

You can also check out more of my PHOTO A DAY pictures in the album to the left!

More than a dreamer...

I am a dreamer.  Always have been, always will be.  I have been dreaming of amazing things, places unknown, and grandiose plans since I was a little girl.  I have never lacked in the imagination or creativity department.  Knowing what to do with those things was a different story.

I am NOT a doer.  I dream and then I don't know how to act on those dreams.  My head fills with ideas and plans and then I get scared.  Something creeps up that keeps me from trying to implement the passions in my heart. Most of my life has been filled with unrealized dreams.

So it doesn't surprise me that when the idea of THE DAILY DIGI came to me almost ten months ago that it didn't happen right away.  It was just a dream -- I have had lots of those.  Last May I started thinking that I might really try to follow through with it but something came up that made me just want to forget about it.

However, this time I couldn't shake the desire.  The dream.  The longing to help other people in their scrapping and photography process.  There were all these ideas and concepts in my head that I had gathered over the last few years and I wanted a place to make them all come together.

So, in November I started thinking seriously about it.  But I was scared and didn't really know if I could do it.  I knew I had the ideas, I just didn't know if I could turn the dreams into reality.

And then I read a quote:

When I read it I knew it was from me.  And when I got scared or became unsure of myself, I reminded myself that I had to do it and it gave me the push I needed to finally become a doer instead of just a dreamer.

So, here I am, owner and editor of a blog/site that is made up of my dreams, and loving every minute of it.  I LOVE hearing that the site is just what people have been hoping for, that it is "just the right amount" of information, that they love the look of it.  It makes me happy to make other people happy and I definitely feel like I am doing what I was meant to do. So thank you, Mrs. Roosevelt, for making me more than a dreamer.

(Oh, and the cute flower and paper will be available at THE DAILY DIGI later this week :)

Oh, and guess what!  The other great part of my new site...I finally scrapped!  It had been since THANKSGIVING since I scrapped anything, which is weird for a person who runs a website about scrapping :)

I made a template for the site and then challenged myself to actually use it.  So glad I did!

I think this project is good for me...

One of the major changes of our move to Indonesia  is that we are not together as a family as much.  We have gone from both Jason and I working from home, homeschooling Alaina, and having three other preschoolers at home with us to Jason going to work, me going to school, and Alaina and Caleb going to school.  That means a LOT less time together! Lots less fun outings, less game playing, less cuddles on the couch. That also means less photos (if no one is here there really isn't anything to take pictures of!)

So, I am finding myself very thankful for my undertaking of PROJECT 365.  I find myself reaching for the camera because I want to capture a small glimpse of our day, not matter how "routine" it seems.  Little things I might not have otherwise stopped to remember.

____

The last few days have been really busy, but really good.  Our friends arrived in Indonesia (unfortunately their luggage did not) and we have been busy taking them shopping and helping them get settled in. It is a crazy feeling to walk into an empty house with nothing but a few carry ons and know that you have to buy EVERYTHING you need for your house -- furniture, kitchen stuff, toys, some clothes, etc. etc. Crazy.  It's so fun to help, though -- to see all the newness again.  We're out today for another shopping-filled day!

School starts back up on Monday and I am so sad.  I have LOVED having my family here with me for three weeks.  Oh well, I have the summer to look forward to, right?

Oh, and the picture?  Just one of those moments that make me smile.  Our kids have an obsession with having birthday parties.  We have pretend ones on a VERY regular basis.  So yesterday morning Caleb walks into our room with Alaina's flower girl dress on, a wig, and a birthday girl crown on his head.  He says so sweet and innocently, "A birthday party for ME??"  LOVE this kid!

I can't believe I forogt to mention...

With the new year and the new site I totally forgot to mention here on this blog about this

My final grab bag at STUDIO JANET went into the shop on January 1.  It was supposed to end on the 6th but since I totally forgot to mention it here to my dear, dear blog readers I decided that I would extend the sale of the grab bag until my shop closes on the 15th.

Happy scrapping!

___

Today I am off to Jakarta to pick up some friends who are going to be living here in Indonesia!  It is a long (and really cool!) story about their coming.  I will have to share it sometime.  For now, I will leave it at they were SUPPOSED to be going to China but back in June *I* knew in my heart they were supposed to be here.  It just took a few months for God to share that information with them too!  But here they come!! Yippee!

I need a time...

I think one of my problems with blogging for me is that I no longer have a set time that I do it. I am a total creature of habit so when I lose routine, I usually lose the things ON the routine.  But this personal blog of mine has been such a huge part of my life for the last three years...I don't want to lose it.

The other thing I don't want to lose is SCRAPPING.  For someone who just started a website to help people scrap, I sure haven't done much of it!  I really miss it...and more than missing the process, I am missing the PAGES.  When I look at my 2008 album it is sadly lacking.  Very sadly.  So many stories that have yet to be told.

One thing I have started (and have been excited to do for a long time) is start my PROJECT 365.  The plan is to take a photo a day for an entire year.  I think that taking the photo every day won't be my struggle -- it will be choosing which one to use!  I added January 1-5 in my sidebar...but what about all the photos I DIDN'T choose?

Like the kids artificial waterfall in the driveway courtesy of dad and the shower from the upstairs bathroom?

Or Caleb's drawings that are all over the house -- and almost always of the SAME thing

Or Levi's curls that make me want to squeeze him every time I see him and kiss him till he can't stop giggling?

Or Miss Katelynn who decided that her oatmeal was for playing rather than eating?

Or a little boys bike with his Elly and a bag full of cars?

And what about our holiday breakfast food...martabak and the "eyeball" fruits Jason goes into the kampung for every morning?

Or my ten month old (sheesh, when did THAT happen?) who spends most of her day crawling up the stairs and then crying when she can't get down?

If these aren't THE photo of the day then what do I do with them?

Easy.  Blog them.  Scrap them.  Find a time!

We're Okay

Just wanted to pop in after a number of people have expressed some concern about our safety.  The earthquake that hit Indonesia today hit in West Papua, far from where we are.

{HOME}

I have spent the last few weeks praying about my one little word for the year.  Last year it was {change} and oh my...how little I was prepared for the change that came our way! We went from a family of five happily living in Orlando, Florida, both of us working full time to a family of six living in Indonesia with Jason working his dream job and me being in language school, home with the kiddos, and staring my own website.  CRAZY!

As I was praying and thinking, I almost decided to change "one little word"  to "one little phrase": that which matters most. Last spring I made a simple list of things that mattered most to be -- a filter set through which every opportunity and commitment could be run.  I wrote it on a piece of paper towel (we were camping and it was all I could find) and it sits in my Bible.

Here is what it says:

THIS IS WHAT MATTERS and WHAT WILL MATTER

1. MY KIDS HAD A HAPPY CHILDHOOD
    a. Their mom and dad provided godly examples of man and woman.  They gave their
        children something to model themselves after
    b. They were given tastes of the world as a whole and they were exposed to enough
        things in life for them to
                i. know God's love for ALL people and ALL nations
                ii. make wise and fitting decisions for love and for life

2. MY LIFE WAS NOT WASTED
    a. I didn't put energy into pursuing things that won't last
    b. My skills, gifts, passions, etc were used to help others and to glorify God.

As I look at this, almost ten months later, I am convinced the words were from God Himself and I don't think I could rewrite my priorities any better. Summed up there is the life I want to live.

So, I almost used one little phrase this year.  But as I kept praying, the word HOME kept coming to me.   HOME (noun): A place where something flourishes, is most typically found, or from which it originates.

HOME is what I want to concentrate on.  I am facing the fact that I have an almost six year old (gasp!).  The other kids are growing up so fast despite that I have told them growing is strictly prohibited. I don't want to miss these years....I don't want to wake up one day and find out that my kids are all grown and I missed it.  I will not cope with that.

The other day I read this quote off of a friends blog:

You must know that there is nothing higher, or stronger, or sounder, or more useful afterwards in life, than some good memory, especially a memory from childhood, from the parental home. You hear a lot said about your education, yet some such beautiful, sacred memory, preserved from childhood, is perhaps the best education.

-Dosteovsky, Brothers Karamazov

This put words to a feeling in my heart -- so much of what I do as a parent is because I don't know what will be the thing my kids remember.  If I think back on my childhood and the bits and pieces I can remember, I realize we never know what memories will stick and what ones won't. As parents, we don't know that the cameras of their hearts are photographing.  Will they remember the time I snapped at them just because they made a small mistake.  Will they remember baking cookies and eating them before dinner just because it is fun?  I don't know.  But I want them to look back on their childhood and have it STRENGTHEN them. 

Therefore, I want to concentrate on home. Our home. These people I love so much. I want our home (regardless of where our house is) to be a place of peace, of contentment, of happiness. Amy Carmichael (missionary to India at the turn of the 20th century) made a simple and yet profound statement that stays with me wherever I go: "I don't think there could have been a happier child than was I."

THAT is what I want my kids to be able to say.

HOME, a place that something flourishes.  I hope we all flourish this year as I embrace the word {home}